William Lochren was born on April 3, 1832, in County Tyrone in present-day Northern Ireland. His family immigrated to America around 1834, and he eventually settled in St. Anthony in the Minnesota Territory. He earned a living as a lawyer.

 

He enlisted in the Union army on May 22, 1861, and he mustered in as a sergeant in Company K of the 1^st Minnesota Infantry. He was promoted to 2^nd lieutenant in September 1862, and to 1^st lieutenant in July 1863. The regiment took part in the Peninsula campaign, the Battle of Antietam, and the Battle of Gettysburg. He resigned on December 30, 1863.

 

He settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after leaving the army, and he resumed his work as a lawyer. He supported the Democratic Party, and he served in the Minnesota senate from 1869 until 1870. He served as city attorney of Minneapolis from 1877 until 1878, and he became a state district court judge in 1881. He held the position for the next twelve years. He married Mary E. Abbott on April 19, 1882, and their son William was born around 1884.

 

From 1893 until 1896, he served as commissioner of pensions for the United States Pension Bureau. Then, in 1896, President Grover Cleveland appointed him to the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. He served on the court until his retirement in July 1908. He died in Minneapolis on January 27, 1912.

 

Image: William Lochren (courtesy Wikicommons)

SOURCES