Alfred Briggs Irion
Alfred Briggs Irion was a U. S. Representative for Louisiana's 6th congressional district.Biography
Born near rural Evergreen in Avoyelles Parish, Irion attended the common schools, Franklin College in Opelousas, and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1855. He studied law privately and was admitted to the bar in 1857. He launched his practice in Marksville, the seat of government of Avoyelles Parish. He served as delegate to the Louisiana secession convention in 1860 and opposed the secession of the southern states.
During the Civil War, Irion served in the Confederate States Army. He was attached to General Walker's division under Colonel Randall.
He served as member of the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1864 and 1865. when he returned to his law practice. He was the editor of a local newspaper in Marksville from 1866 to 1874. He moved to his native Evergreen in 1870 and engaged there in planting. He continued the practice of law and also engaged in literary pursuits. He was a member of the Louisiana Constitutional Convention in 1879. From 1880 to 1884, he served as judge of the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the Third Circuit.
Irion was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-ninth Congress but was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination. He died in New Orleans and is interred in the Baptist Cemetery in Evergreen, Louisiana.
