Ezekiel J. Ingersoll was born in Greensburg, Indiana, on November 18, 1836. Soon after his family moved to Carbondale, Illinois in 1859, he became the proprietor of a jewelry business, located in Carbondale. During the Civil War Ingersoll served in the Union Army, enlisting in Company H, 73rd Illinois Infantry on July 20, 1862, and achieving the rank of Captain after the Battle of Stone River. He was elected mayor of Carbondale four times and also served as Representative in the 39th General Assembly of the Congress of Illinois. As Representative, he helped secure, in 1895, a forty-thousand-dollar appropriation for a science building to be built at Southern Illinois Normal University. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the university, being first appointed as Secretary of the Board of Trustees in 1885. Ingersoll died on February 26, 1925.
From the description of Ezekiel J. Ingersoll papers, 1876-1920 (bulk 1886-1891). (Southern Illinois University). WorldCat record id: 159935609
