Publisher, soldier and politician, would briefly describe the life of Chalmers B. Ingersoll. He was a pioneer in Beloit, and for many years the pulse of the city throbbed to the tempo of his writing.

He was born October 29, 1838, in New York, and when he was 18 years old he had mastered much of the printer’s trade. He applied that knowledge for the first time in Freeport. Five years later, after being associated with the Chicago Tribune, he answered President Lincoln’s call for volunteers. He served with Company C, 8th Illinois Cavalry until he was discharged in 1864.

After the war he was captain of Company E, Wisconsin National Guard, in Beloit. It was in 1866 when he started the Free Press, a weekly newspaper. A year later he purchased the Beloit Journal, then there was consolidation and the Press continued publication.

In 1881 he became the sole owner of the paper and his career as a publisher ended when he retired in June of 1907. As a publisher his interest in politics quickened. He had foresight and sagacity, and his politics assumed fiery proportions.

He was sergeant-at-arms in the state senate from 1878 to 1879. He was postmaster in Beloit during President Arthur’s administration in 1883, and again under President McKinley in 1897. He served his community as a member of the city council also.

He died January 1, 1908.