Kansas Governor. He received little education due to the early death of his father. He performed menial labor on a farm and in a store. At fourteen he ignored his mother's protest and military rejection and joined a Civil War troop that he served until the end of the war. In 1872 he switched from the Republican party to the Democratic party and switched again when the Populist, or People's, party was formed in 1890. He threw his hat into the political arena in 1892 and was elected to the Kansas State Senate. When the Democrats and the Populists merged he was elected as Kansas governor and sworn in on January 11, 1897. He lost his reelection bid and dropped out of politics for a while. He moved to Valdez, Alaska and served two years as mayor. He became a naturalized citizen of Canada and died there almost penniless. The Kansas Legislature donated $1000 to mark his grave and pay his funeral expenses.
Kansas Governor. He received little education due to the early death of his father. He performed menial labor on a farm and in a store. At fourteen he ignored his mother's protest and military rejection and joined a Civil War troop that he served until the end of the war. In 1872 he switched from the Republican party to the Democratic party and switched again when the Populist, or People's, party was formed in 1890. He threw his hat into the political arena in 1892 and was elected to the Kansas State Senate. When the Democrats and the Populists merged he was elected as Kansas governor and sworn in on January 11, 1897. He lost his reelection bid and dropped out of politics for a while. He moved to Valdez, Alaska and served two years as mayor. He became a naturalized citizen of Canada and died there almost penniless. The Kansas Legislature donated $1000 to mark his grave and pay his funeral expenses.
Bio by: Tom Todd
Family Members
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Records on Ancestry
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