History of Smithfield, (Dutchess County) New York United States of America

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Biographies:

Aaron T. Bliss - A Biography

Aaron T. Bliss, governor of Maine, was born at Smithfield, N. Y., May 22, 1837. He was educated at the district school. In 1861 he enlisted as a private in the Federal army, served upwards of three years, and rose to the rank of captain. He spent six months of this time in the prisons at Andersonville, Charleston, Macon and Columbia, from which last he made his escape, and after eighteen nights of perilous travel through hostile territory, reached the Union lines. In 1865 he removed to Michigan, and engaged in the manufacture of lumber at Saginaw. In 1882 he was elected to the state senate, and in 1888 a representative to the 51st Congress. He was elected governor of Michigan in 1896, and re-elected in 1900, for the term ending 1904.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor