Representative Joseph Bonaparte Cheadle

Joseph Bonaparte Cheadle (August 14, 1842 – May 28, 1904) was an American lawyer, Civil War veteran, newspaperman, and politician who served two terms as a U.S. Representative from Indiana from 1887 to 1891. A member of the Republican Party during his tenure in Congress, he represented his constituents in the House of Representatives during a significant period in American political and economic development in the late nineteenth century.

Cheadle was born on August 14, 1842, in Perrysville, Vermillion County, Indiana. He attended the common schools of his native state and later enrolled at Asbury University in Greencastle, Indiana, an institution that was subsequently renamed DePauw University. His formal education was interrupted by the outbreak of the Civil War, which reshaped the course of his early life and career.

With the organization of the Seventy-first Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War, Cheadle enlisted as a private in Company K. He served in the Union Army until the close of the war, gaining the experience and perspective of a Civil War veteran that would later inform his public service. After the war ended, he returned to Indiana and turned his attention to the study of law, embarking on a professional path that would lead him into both legal practice and politics.

Cheadle pursued legal training in Indianapolis and was graduated from the Indianapolis Law College in 1867. That same year he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Newport, Indiana, the county seat of Vermillion County. He continued in active legal practice until 1873, when he shifted his professional focus to journalism and newspaper work, a field in which he would remain involved for many years and which helped establish his public profile and political connections.

Cheadle entered national politics as a Republican and was elected to the Fiftieth and Fifty-first Congresses, serving as a U.S. Representative from Indiana from March 4, 1887, to March 3, 1891. During his two terms in the United States Congress, he contributed to the legislative process and participated in the democratic governance of the nation, representing the interests of his Indiana constituents in the House of Representatives. His service coincided with debates over tariffs, economic policy, and veterans’ issues in the post-Reconstruction era. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1890, bringing his consecutive congressional service to a close at the end of the Fifty-first Congress.

After leaving Congress, Cheadle remained active in politics and public affairs. He sought a return to the House of Representatives but was unsuccessful in his bids for the Republican nomination to the Fifty-third and Fifty-fourth Congresses in 1892 and 1894. Amid the political realignments of the 1890s, he changed his party affiliation and became associated with the Democratic Party in 1896. That year he also served as editor of the American Standard, reflecting his continued engagement with journalism and political discourse. He ran unsuccessfully for election to Congress in 1896 and again in 1898, this time on combined Democratic and Populist tickets, illustrating his alignment with the reform and populist currents of the era.

In his later years, Cheadle continued to reside in Indiana and remained identified with both his legal and journalistic careers as well as his record of public service. He died in Frankfort, Indiana, on May 28, 1904. Joseph Bonaparte Cheadle was interred in Greenlawn Cemetery, leaving a legacy as a Civil War veteran, attorney, editor, and former member of the United States House of Representatives who participated in the political life of Indiana and the nation during a transformative period in American history.