John Bidwell (5 August 1819-4 April 1900) was a member of the US House of Representatives (R-CA 3) from 4 March 1865 to 3 March 1867, preceding James A. Johnson.
Biography[]
John Bidwell was born in Chautauqua County, New York in 1819, and he moved to Erie, Pennsylvania in 1829, to Ashtabula County, Ohio in 1831, and to Monterey, California in 1844. He and John Sutter participated in Jose Castro's revolt, and he became a successful gold prospector, obtained a land grant at Rancho Los Ulpinos in Solano County, and became a Mexican citizen. He later participated in the Bear Flag Revolt during the Mexican-American War, and he served in the State Senate in 1849 as a Democrat and in the US House of Representatives from 1865 to 1867 as a Republican. He ran for Governor in 1875 on the Anti-Monopoly Party ticket and in 1880 on the Prohibition Party ticket, and he died in 1900.