- Daniel Woodson
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Daniel Woodson Acting Territorial Governor of Kansas Lieutenant None Preceded by None In office
April 17, 1855 – June 23, 1855In office
August 16, 1855 – September 9, 1855In office
June 24, 1856 – July 7, 1856In office
August 18, 1856 – September 9, 1856In office
March 12, 1857 – April 16, 1857Personal details Born May 24, 1824]
Albemarle County, VirginiaDied October 5, 1894
Claremore, Indian TerritoryPolitical party Democratic Spouse(s) America Fuqua Christian Palmer Profession printer, newspaper editor, politician, land agent Religion Baptist (preference) Daniel Woodson (May 24, 1824 – October 5, 1894) was secretary of Kansas Territory (1854–1857) and a five-time acting governor of the territory.[1]
Contents
Early life
Woodson was born on a farm in Albemarle County, Virginia and orphaned at age 7. He was apprenticed as a printer and became quite skilled at the trade. For eight years Woodson served as coeditor and publisher of the Democratic newspaper Lynchburg Republican. In 1851, he became editor of the Richmond Republican-Advocate, another Democratic newspaper.
Political career
Woodson was appointed secretary of the Kansas Territory by President Franklin Pierce on June 29, 1854 and took the oath of office in Washington, DC on September 28th, drawing an annual salary of $2,000. Because he was fully sympathetic to those who wanted to make Kansas a slave state, he agreed with the wishes of the proslavery forces in the territory.
While Governor Andrew Reeder was away from the territory, Woodson became acting governor, signing the first laws passed by the territorial legislature. Even though this first territorial legislature was accepted by the federal government, free staters called the laws "bogus laws".
Altogether, Woodson served as acting governor for a little more than five months during the absences of governors Andrew Reeder, Wilson Shannon, and John W. Geary.
Later life
Woodson spent his last years in Parker, Kansas where he was actively helping to establish a town which its residents believed would be located along a railroad line. When the railroad bypassed Parker, most of the citizens – including Woodson – relocated to Coffeyville, Kansas. Woodson operated a variety of newspapers, including the Coffeyville Journal. He was visiting Claremore, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) when he died in 1894.
Legacy
Woodson County, Kansas was named for him in 1855. It was the only county named for a Kansas territorial official, until 1889 when Davis County was renamed Geary County.
Notes
Categories:- Governors of Kansas Territory
- People from Albemarle County, Virginia
- 1824 births
- 1894 deaths
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