John Thomas Averill (March 1, 1825 – October 3, 1889) was a United States Army officer in the American Civil War who later became a U.S. congressional representative from Minnesota. Early life and education Averill was born in Alna, Maine, March 1, 1825. He moved with his parents to Montville, Maine, in 1838 and graduated from the Maine Wesleyan Seminary at Readfield in 1846. He taught school for a short time, and subsequently engaged in lumbering for one year. Averill then moved to Winthrop, Maine, and engaged in mercantile pursuits for three years. In 1852 he moved to northern Pennsylvania and again engaged in lumbering until 1857, when he settled in Lake City, Minnesota. Once there, he engaged in mercantile pursuits and the grain business; was a member of the Minnesota Senate 1858–1860. Career On August 22, 1862, Averill was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel of the 6th Minnesota Infantry Regiment. He was promoted to colonel on November 22, 1864, and was assigned as Provost Marshal General for the District of Minnesota. He was honorably mustered out on September 28, 1865; and was made a brevet brigadier general on October 18, 1865. In 1866, he moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, and engaged in the wholesale paper and stationery business. He was a member of the Republican National Committee from 1868 through 1880; elected as a Republican to the 42nd and 43rd congresses (March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1875); He was chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs (Forty-third Congress); was not a candidate for renomination in 1874. Later life and death Averill resumed his business activities in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he died on October 3, 1889; interred at the Oakland Cemetery. He is the namesake of the community of Averill, Minnesota. References External links 1825 births 1889 deaths Republican Party Minnesota state senators People from Alna, Maine Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota 19th-century American politicians Union Army colonels People from Montville, Maine People from Lake City, Minnesota Businesspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota People of Minnesota in the American Civil War 19th-century American businesspeople