Senator Alfred Washburn Benson

Alfred Washburn Benson, also known as Albert Washburn Benson (July 15, 1843 – January 1, 1916), was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as a United States senator from Kansas. He was born in Poland, Chautauqua County, New York, and in 1860 moved with his family to Jamestown, New York. There he attended Jamestown and Randolph Academies, receiving the education that prepared him for both military and legal careers.

During the American Civil War, Benson enlisted in 1862 as a private in the 154th New York Infantry Regiment. He served throughout the conflict, and by the close of the war he held a commission as a major, reflecting both his length of service and his advancement in responsibility. After the war, he turned to the study of law and was admitted to the bar in Buffalo, New York, in 1866. He commenced the practice of law in Sherman, New York, before seeking broader opportunities in the developing West.

In 1869 Benson moved to Ottawa, Kansas, where he established himself as a lawyer and quickly became active in public affairs. He held various local offices in Ottawa and Franklin County, building a reputation as a capable attorney and civic leader. His growing prominence in Kansas Republican politics led to his election to the Kansas Senate, in which he served from 1881 to 1885. In that role he participated in state legislative deliberations during a period of rapid growth and political realignment in Kansas.

Benson’s legislative service was followed by a long judicial career at the state level. He was appointed and then served as judge of the fourth judicial district of Kansas from 1885 to 1897. Over more than a decade on the district bench, he presided over a wide range of civil and criminal matters, contributing to the development of Kansas jurisprudence and further solidifying his standing within the state’s legal community.

A member of the Republican Party, Benson was called to national office in the early twentieth century. He was appointed as a Republican to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator Joseph R. Burton. Benson served as a senator from Kansas from June 11, 1906, to January 23, 1907, completing one term in office. His brief tenure occurred during a significant period in American history marked by Progressive Era reforms and debates over regulation and economic policy. As a member of the Senate, Alfred Washburn Benson contributed to the legislative process, participated in the democratic governance of the nation, and represented the interests of his Kansas constituents. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1907 to fill the same vacancy on a permanent basis.

After leaving the Senate, Benson returned to judicial service at the highest level of the state judiciary. He was appointed and subsequently elected as a justice of the Kansas Supreme Court in 1907. He served on the state’s highest court from 1907 to 1915, taking part in decisions that shaped Kansas law during a period of continued social and economic change. He resigned from the Kansas Supreme Court in 1915, effectively marking the end of his long public career.

Following his resignation from the bench, Benson retired from public life. He died in Topeka, Kansas, on January 1, 1916, at the age of 72. His remains were interred in Highland Cemetery in Ottawa, Kansas, the community where he had first established his Kansas law practice and from which his decades of public service had begun.