James Kerr Proudfit

James Kerr Proudfit
Portrait from Story of the Service of Company E and the Twelfth Wisconsin Regiment, Veteran Volunteer Infantry, in the War of the Rebellion (1893)
9th Adjutant General of Wisconsin
In office
May 1, 1866  March 28, 1868
GovernorLucius Fairchild
Preceded byAugustus Gaylord
Succeeded byEdwin E. Bryant
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 26th district
In office
January 1, 1866  January 6, 1868
Preceded byThomas Hood
Succeeded byCarl Habich
Personal details
Born(1831-07-24)July 24, 1831
Argyle, New York, U.S.
DiedMay 30, 1917(1917-05-30) (aged 85)
Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.
Resting placeWoodlawn Cemetery, Kansas City
Political partyNatl. Union
Spouse
Emelie Teresa Kreuz
(m. 1855; died 1884)
Children
  • Theresa (Newhall)
  • (b. 1856; died 1935)
  • James Delamark Proudfit
  • (b. 1858; died 1894)
  • Herbert Kerr Proudfit
  • (b. 1860; died 1942)
  • Isabelle (Miller)
  • (b. 1863; died 1940)
  • Grace (Gerdes)
  • (b. 1869; died 1943)
  • Julia Proudfit
  • (b. 1871; died 1892)
  • 4 others
Relatives
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Volunteers
Union Army
Years of service18611865
Rank
Unit1st Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry
Commands12th Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry
Battles/wars

James Kerr Proudfit (July 24, 1831  May 30, 1917) was an American military officer, politician, and pioneer of Wisconsin, New Mexico and Kansas. He served in the Union Army throughout the American Civil War, rising to the rank of colonel, and earned an honorary brevet to the rank of brigadier general after the conclusion of the war. He later served as a member of the Wisconsin Senate, adjutant general of Wisconsin, and surveyor general of New Mexico; he was also one of the founders of the Grand Army of the Republic, serving as the first department commander for Wisconsin.

His elder brother, Andrew Proudfit, was also a Wisconsin state senator and the 9th mayor of Madison, Wisconsin. James Proudfit's daughter Isabelle married Orrin L. Miller, who went on to become a U.S. representative and judge in Kansas.