Brigadier General Edward S. Salomon

General Edward S. Salomon, Governor of Washington Territory. Born in Schleswig Holstein in 1836, Salomon came to America in 1854, settling in Chicago. In 1859 he became a member of the Illinois bar, and in 1860 he was elected Alderman of Chicago. When the Civil War began in 1861 he enlisted and rose from second lieutenant to brigadier general in the Union Army, "for distinguished gallantry and meritorious service." Late in 1869 President Grant appointed General E. S. Salomon as Governor of Washington Territory, and he served his two-year term in 1870 and 1871 in Olympia. At the High Holy Days there in 1871, Salomon joined the seven Jewish families of the city in the service and gave the Yom Kippur sermon. After his term in Washington Territory the general settled in San Francisco, where he practiced law. He had a notable career as a veterans' leader, being California State president of the Grand Army of the Republic in 1887. His popularity in San Francisco is indicated by his election to the State Assembly as a Republican in November, 1888. He had married Sophia Greenhut in 1860, and they had three sons and three daughters. Salomon died in 1913. Submitted by Barbara Lacy

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