Alfred Elisha Ames (December 14, 1814 – September 23, 1874) was an American physician and politician. Born in Colchester, Vermont, he moved to Orwell, Ohio, in 1831. In 1836 he moved to Chicago, Illinois. He then moved to Vandalia, Illinois, where he served as deputy secretary of state of Illinois and as private secretary to the Governor of Illinois. In 1839, he moved to Springfield, Illinois where he served in the same positions and clerk of the Illinois House of Representatives. He lived in Belvedere and Roscoe, Illinois. In 1845, Ames graduated from Rush Medical College. He served in the Illinois House of Representatives and then in the Illinois State Senate. He also served as probate judge and postmaster of Roscoe, Illinois. In 1851, he moved to Minnesota Territory and settled in what