Born in Dresden, New York, Ingersoll moved to Wisconsin Territory in 1843 and subsequently to Illinois.

He pursued classical studies in Peoria, Illinois, and in Paducah, Kentucky.

Ingersoll was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-eighth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Owen Lovejoy.

A eulogy given at his funeral by his brother Robert was later included in an anthology compiled by Clarence Darrow and Wallace Rice.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress