Edward Holcomb Stiles

Edward Holcomb Stiles (October 3, 1836 – May 9, 1921) was a lawyer, politician and writer. He served in the Iowa House of Representatives and Iowa Senate.

Early life Edward Holcomb Stiles was born on October 3, 1836, in Granby, Connecticut. In 1856, Stiles moved to Wapello County, Iowa, and taught school the following winter. He studied law with Colonel S. W. Summers of Ottumwa, Iowa, and was admitted to the bar in 1857.

Career Stiles formed a partnership with Summers. In 1858, Stiles was elected a member of the Ottumwa City Council and became city counselor in 1859. In 1860, Stiles was a Democrat. He stumped for Stephen A. Douglas in Iowa alongside Henry Clay Dean for the 1860 presidential election. After the Civil War, Stiles became a Republican. In 1861, Stiles became a county attorney.

In 1863, Stiles was elected as representative in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing District 10, for the 1864 session. In 1865, Stiles was elected to the Iowa Senate, serving in the 1866 session but ultimately resigned in 1866 after his nomination to the Republican State Convention as reporter for the Supreme Court. He was the first elected to the position of reporter of the Supreme Court. He served in the role until 1875. Stiles published with Thomas F. Withrow four volumes of Digest of Decisions of the Supreme Court of Iowa, a history of the Supreme Court from territorial days to the date of publication, from 1874 to 1879. He retired in 1911 from practicing law and moved to Pasadena, California. Stiles prepared and published Recollections and Sketches of Notable Lawyers and Public Men of Early Iowa in 1916.

Later in life, Stiles lived at 904 Mission Street in Pasadena. Stiles died at the home of his son-in-law Egbert J. Gates on May 9, 1921, in Pasadena, California.