Loren Fletcher

Loren Fletcher (April 10, 1833 – April 15, 1919) was a U.S. representative from Minnesota.

Biography He was born in Mount Vernon, Kennebec County, Maine and attended the public schools and Maine Wesleyan Seminary, Kents Hill, Maine. Fletcher moved to Bangor in 1853, where he was a stonecutter, clerk in a store, and an employee of a lumber company.

In 1856, he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and engaged in manufacturing and mercantile pursuits, largely in the manufacture of lumber and flour. He became a member of the board of directors of the First National Bank upon its establishment in 1864.

In 1873, Fletcher was involved in the abduction of Lord Gordon Gordon at the behest of Jay Gould from Canada. He was arrested together with Gould, John Gilfillan and Eugene McLanahan Wilson. They were released on bail after diplomatic pressure by Minnesota Governor Horace Austin.

Fletcher was elected a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives 1872 – 1886, and served as speaker from 1880 to 1885. Beginning with the 1892 election, he was elected as a Republican to the 53rd, 54th, 55th, 56th, and 57th congresses (March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1903). Fletcher served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures on Public Buildings (57th congress. He was defeated in the 1902 election to the 58th congress, but was elected to the 59th congress, (March 4, 1905 – March 3, 1907). He declined to be a candidate for reelection and retired from active business.

Fletcher died in Atlanta, Georgia, April 15, 1919, aged 86; he is interred in Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Fletcher was married to Amerette J. Thomas from 1855 until she died in 1892. The couple had one child, a daughter.