John R. Kelso

John Russell Kelso (March 23, 1831 – January 26, 1891) was a nineteenth-century American politician, author, lecturer and school principal from Missouri.

John R. Kelso

Biography

Born in Franklin County, Ohio, Kelso received classical training and graduated from Pleasant Ridge College in Missouri in 1859.

During the Civil War, he served in the Union Army as a private in the 24th Missouri Infantry and the 14th Missouri State Militia Cavalry as well as captain of Company M of the 8th Missouri State Militia Cavalry.[1]

Kelso was elected an Independent Republican to the United States House of Representatives in 1864, serving from 1865 to 1867, not being a candidate for renomination in 1866.

Kelso, circa 1890

Afterward, he was principal of Kelso Academy in Springfield, Missouri, from 1867 to 1869, moved to Modesto, California, in 1872 and moved again to Longmont, Colorado, in 1885.

He was an author and lecturer until his death in Longmont on January 26, 1891. Kelso was interred on his estate near Longmont and was later disinterred, cremated and scattered.

Legacy

According to the historian Charles Elmo Ingenthron, Kelso is remembered in Missouri as a ruthless Union advocate:

One of the most unusual Union patriots of the upper White River Valley was Capt. John R. Kelso, a school teacher, who reportedly spoke fluently five languages. He served in the Fourth State Militia as a Lieutenant, and later as Captain in the 8th Missouri Militia. He was a fanatic in his Unionism. He thought all Confederates to be traitors, guilty of treason and deserving death. It is said he killed many a man without cause. It is also said that he always carried a book in his saddle pockets. He read as he waited to drop the rebel.[2]

References
  1. Kelso, John R., and Christopher Grasso. Bloody Engagements: John R. Kelso's Civil War. Yale University Press, 2017
  2. Charles Elmo Ingenthron. Civil War: Guerillas, Jayhawkers, Bushwackers. From Elmo Ingenthron Manuscript, White River Valley Historical Quarterly, Volume 2, Number 4, Summer 1965
  • United States Congress. "John R. Kelso (id: K000081)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2008-11-01
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Sempronius H. Boyd		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Missouri's 4th congressional district
March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1867		 Succeeded by
Joseph J. Gravely
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