- John Marshall Stone
John Marshall Stone (
April 30 ,1830 ndashMarch 26 ,1900 ) was an American politician fromMississippi who served longer as Governor of that state than anyone else, from 1876 to 1882 and again from 1890 to 1896.Born in
Tennessee , Stone was the son of Asher and Judith Stone, natives ofVirginia . He did not attend college since his family was fairly poor, but he studied a great deal and eventually taught school. In 1855, he moved toTishomingo County, Mississippi , and became a station agent at Iuka when theMemphis and Charleston Railroad opened.With the outbreak of the
American Civil War in 1861, Stone enlisted in theConfederate States Army that April. He commanded Company K of the Second Mississippi Infantry and saw action in Virginia. Stone, who had the rank of colonel, was placed in command of anotherregiment due to a reorganization in 1862. Colonel Stone was offered a promotion to major general, but he declined since it meant leaving his regiment. He and his unit were captured in early 1865 and held prisoner inKentucky ,Camp Chase , Ohio, and then finallyJohnson's Island , Ohio.At the end of the war, Stone returned to Tishomingo County and was elected mayor and treasurer. In 1869, he won a race to become state senator, winning re-election in 1873. Governor
Adelbert Ames resigned in 1876, making Stone, thePresident Pro Tempore of theMississippi Senate at that time, theacting governor . He won the Governor's office in his own right, as a Democrat, in the 1877 election, but was defeated for re-election by Robert Lowry in 1881. Stone became Governor again after winning the 1889 election and his term was extended through 1896 by the state constitution of 1890.He married Mary G. Coman in 1872, and the couple had two natural children that died at a young age. However, they adopted three children of John's brother and raised them as their own.
In 1899, Stone accepted a position as the 2nd President of Mississippi A&M (now
Mississippi State University ) inStarkville, Mississippi . [http://www.its.msstate.edu/Information/Documentation/files/webctcontent/6Presidents.htm] Stone died inHolly Springs, Mississippi , in 1900, at the age of 69.Stone County, Mississippi , was named in his honor,posthumously in 1916.
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