Marsena E. Cutts

Marsena E. Cutts
Marsena E. Cutts
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives; from Iowa's 6th district
	In office; March 4, 1883 – September 1, 1883
Preceded by	John C. Cook
Succeeded by	John C. Cook
	In office; March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1883
Preceded by	James B. Weaver
Succeeded by	John C. Cook
Attorney General of Iowa
	In office; 1872–1877
Governor	Cyrus C. Carpenter; Samuel J. Kirkwood
Preceded by	Henry O'Connor
Succeeded by	John F. McJunkin
Personal details
Born	Marsena Edgar Cutts; May 22, 1833; Orwell, Vermont, U.S.
Died	September 1, 1883 (aged 50); Oskaloosa, Iowa
Resting place	Forest Cemetery, Oskaloosa, Iowa
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Helen Frick (m. 1857)
Children	4
Profession	Attorney

Marsena Edgar Cutts (May 22, 1833 – September 1, 1883) was a nineteenth-century politician and lawyer from Iowa. A Republican, he was most notable for his service as Attorney General of Iowa from 1872 to 1877 and in the United States House of Representatives from March 1881 to March 1883 and again from March 1883 until his death.

Early life

Born in Orwell, Vermont, Cutts attended common schools in his native village and later attended St. Lawrence Academy in Potsdam, New York. He moved to Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin in 1853 where he taught school for two years and studied law. He moved to Oskaloosa, Iowa in 1855, continued to study law and was admitted to the bar the same year, commencing practice in Montezuma, Iowa. He was prosecuting attorney of Poweshiek County, Iowa in 1857 and 1858, was a member of the Iowa House of Representatives in 1861 and served in the Iowa Senate from 1864 to 1866. Cutts was again a member of the Iowa House of Representatives from 1870 to 1872 and was Attorney General of Iowa from 1872 to 1877.

U.S. Congressman

In 1880, Cutts ran as a Republican for the U.S. House of Representatives for Iowa's 6th congressional district. He won the Republican nomination, and the Democratic and Greenback parties united behind a single opponent, Democrat John C. Cook.^[1] After a very close general election, Iowa's State Board of Canvassers concluded that Cutts had won 106 more votes.^[2] This enabled Cutts to be sworn in in 1881 and to initially serve as a congressman, as Cook pursued a contest of the election with the Republican-controlled U.S. House in the 47th United States Congress.^[3] A commissioner took evidence regarding the contest in Oskaloosa in the Spring of 1882, but the House Committee on Elections had not announced a decision by the date that the seat was again up for election in November 1882^[4] (when Cutts undisputedly won a plurality of votes).^[5] It was not until February 1883, in the waning days of Cutts' first term, that the Committee issued its recommendation - an 8–2 vote that Cook, not Cutts, won the 1880 election.^[6] The House accepted this recommendation in time for Cutts to serve only a single day of the term, on March 3, 1883, and to collect his salary.^[7]

In the 1882 election, the Democratic Party and the Greenback Party nominated separate candidates. Cutts undisputedly won more votes than any other opponent, but the combined votes against him exceeded those in favor of him by over 5,000 votes.^[1] Because Cutts undisputedly won the election, his term in the 48th United States Congress began the day after Cook's single day in the previous Congress.

Death and burial

Cutts was in poor health during his service in Congress.^[8] He died of tuberculosis in Oskaloosa, Iowa on September 1, 1883.^[1] He was interred at Forest Cemetery in Oskaloosa.

Electoral history

1874 general election: Iowa Attorney General^[9]
	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Marsena E. Cutts (incumbent)	106,632	57.2
Republican	John H. Keatley	79,754	42.7
	scattering	183	0.1

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Death of Congressman Cutts," Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, 1883-09-02 at p. 7.
^ Spirit Lake Beacon, 1800-12-09 at p. 2.
^ Dubuque Daily Herald, 1882-01-06 at p.2.
^ "Contested elections for the Next Session to Settle," Davenport Daily Gazette, 1882-11-25 at p.1.
^ The November Results - Official," Iowa State Register, 1882-12-13 at p. 6.
^ "Washington Notes," The Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, 1883-02-19 at p.4.
^ The Perry Chief, 1883-03-09 at p.4.
^ "Iowa Notes,' Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, 1883-02-19 at p.3.
^ "Official Canvas". The Perry Daily Chief. 1874-11-21. Retrieved 2021-12-16.

External links

United States Congress. "Marsena E. Cutts (id: C001032)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Marsena E. Cutts at Find a Grave

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by James Weaver	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 6th congressional district March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1883 (obsolete district)	Succeeded by John C. Cook
Preceded by John C. Cook	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 6th congressional district March 4, 1883 – September 1, 1883 (obsolete district)	Succeeded by John C. Cook
Legal offices
Preceded by Henry O'Connor	Attorney General of Iowa 1872–1877	Succeeded by John F. McJunkin

[obit-1] "Death of Congressman Cutts," Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, 1883-09-02 at p. 7.

[2] Spirit Lake Beacon, 1800-12-09 at p. 2.

[3] Dubuque Daily Herald, 1882-01-06 at p.2.

[4] "Contested elections for the Next Session to Settle," Davenport Daily Gazette, 1882-11-25 at p.1.

[5] The November Results - Official," Iowa State Register, 1882-12-13 at p. 6.

[6] "Washington Notes," The Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, 1883-02-19 at p.4.

[7] The Perry Chief, 1883-03-09 at p.4.

[8] "Iowa Notes,' Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, 1883-02-19 at p.3.

[9] "Official Canvas". The Perry Daily Chief. 1874-11-21. Retrieved 2021-12-16.

[1]

v t e Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa
1st	W. Thompson Miller Henn A. Hall S. Curtis J. F. Wilson McCrary Stone McCoid B. Hall Gear Seerley Gear S. Clark Hedge Kennedy Kopp Eicher Martin Schwengel Schmidhauser Schwengel Mezvinsky Leach Nussle Braley Blum Finkenauer Hinson Miller-Meeks
2nd	Leffler L. Clark J. P. Cook Thorington Davis Vandever Price Smyth W. Wolf Cotton Tufts Price Farwell Murphy Hayes G. Curtis Lane Rumple Wade Dawson Pepper Vollmer Hull Letts B. Jacobsen W. Jacobsen Talle L. Wolf Bromwell Culver Blouin Tauke Nussle Leach Loebsack Miller-Meeks Hinson
3rd	Allison Donnan Ainsworth Burdick Updegraff Henderson Birdsall Pickett Connolly Sweet Robinson Willford Gwynne Gross Grassley Evans Nagle Lightfoot Boswell Latham Young Axne Nunn
4th	Grinnell Loughridge Walden Pratt Deering Weller Fuller Sweney Butler Updegraff Haugen Biermann Talle LeCompte Carter Kyl Bandstra Kyl N. Smith Ganske Latham King Feenstra
5th	Kasson G. Dodge Palmer J. Wilson R. Clark W. G. Thompson J. Wilson Frederick Kerr J. Hamilton Cousins Good Cole Thurston LeCompte Cunningham N. Smith Scherle Harkin Lightfoot Grandy Latham King
6th	A. Hubbard Pomeroy Orr Loughridge Sampson Weaver Cutts J. C. Cook Cutts J. C. Cook Weaver Lacey White Lacey D. Hamilton Kendall Kirkpatrick Ramseyer Dowell Utterback Dowell Goodwin Cunningham Gilchrist J. I. Dolliver Coad Hoeven Greigg Mayne Bedell Grandy
7th	Kasson Cummings E. Gillette Kasson H. Smith Conger Hays Hull Prouty Dowell Wearin Jensen Hansen Scherle
8th	McDill Sapp Hepburn Anderson Flick Hepburn Jamieson Towner Evans Thurston Gilchrist Hoeven
9th	Orr Oliver Carpenter Pusey Lyman Reed Bowman Hager McPherson W. Smith Green Vincent Swanson G. Gillette Harrington Narey
10th	Holmes J. P. Dolliver Conner Woods Dickinson Gilchrist
11th	Struble Perkins Thomas E. Hubbard Scott Steele Scott Boies Campbell
AL	Hastings Leffler
Terr	Chapman A. Dodge