- William C. Grimes
Infobox Governor
name= William C. Grimes
imagesize= 200px
caption=
order= Acting
office= Governor of Oklahoma Territory
term_start=November 30 ,1901
term_end=December 9 ,1901
nominator=
predecessor=William Miller Jenkins
successor=Thompson Benton Ferguson
birth_date=November 6 ,1857
birth_place=New Lexington, Ohio
death_date= death date and age |1931|04|08|1857|11|06
death_place=Santa Monica, California
spouse=
alma_mater=
profession=Businessman ,Politician
party= Republican
religion=William C. Grimes (
November 6 ,1857 ndashApril 8 ,1931 ) was an American politician and businessman who had a major influence on Oklahoma politics. He most notably served as Acting Governor ofOklahoma Territory fromNovember 30 ,1901 , toDecember 9 ,1901 . [cite web |url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~okbits/governors.html |title=Governors Of Oklahoma |accessdate=2008-08-01 |publisher=Rootsweb] For many years, he served as chair of the Territorial Republican Committee. He also served as territorial delegate to the Republican National Committee.cite web |url=http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/G/GR032.html |title=GRIMES, WILLIAM C. (1857-1931) |accessdate=2008-08-01 |publisher=Oklahoma State University ]Early life
Grimes was born near
New Lexington, Ohio onNovember 6 ,1857 .cite web |url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/grimes.html |title=Index to Politicians: Grimes |accessdate=2008-08-01 |publisher=The Political Graveyard] At the age of twenty, he moved to Nebraska where he became a newspaperman and later sheriff of Johnson County. He traveled south to participate in theLand Run of 1889 into theUnassigned Lands . He claimed land nearKingfisher, Oklahoma and established a farm. He went into real estate, enlarged his farm, built business blocks and residential areas in town, and helped to establishKingfisher College (active from 1895-1922). He also became active in Republican politics.Political career
Grimes was appointed U.S. marshal for
Oklahoma Territory in 1890. During his career as marshal, which lasted until 1893, he established a sound mechanism for the enforcement of federal law.Grimes was turned out of office by the administration of U.S. President
Grover Cleveland . He continued to work in business and farming in Kingfisher. After the Republicans returned to national office, he was reinstalled in federal service. OnMay 12 ,1901 , he became territorial secretary under Governor ofOklahoma Territory William Miller Jenkins .In 1901, William M. Jenkins was not reappointed Governor of Oklahoma Territory due to a major scandal over a state contract. Grimes became Acting Governor of Oklahoma Territory from
November 30 ,1901 , toDecember 9 ,1901 . Although Grimes was accused of involvement in the suspect transaction, he continued to serve in the administration ofThompson Benton Ferguson until January 1906.Later years
After serving in the Ferguson's administration, Grimes moved to Oregon and later to California. He died in
Santa Monica, California onApril 8 ,1931 .References
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