Biographical
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Adelbert Ames
Elected to the U. S. Senate in 1870, Ames became leader of the Republican faction that opposed the moderate policies of Gov. James L. Alcorn.
In 1873, black leaders urged Ames to run for governor, and he handily defeated Alcorn. As governor, Ames attempted to reduce the cost of government and make public land available to the former slaves.
In 1875, Democrats launched a violent campaign to win control of the Mississippi legislature. Ames appealed for federal intervention to restore order, but without success.
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After the Democratic victory, Ames resigned as governor, returned to the North, and went into his father's flour-milling business in Northfield, Minnesota.
In 1876 Jesse James’s gang of outlaws, who had been ardent supporters of the Confederacy, attempted to rob a bank in which Ames and his father-in-law had invested.
In 1898, he served as a general in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.
Ames' daughter, Blanche Ames became an artist and a leader in women's suffrage.
