- William D. Bloxham
Infobox Governor
name = William Dunnington Bloxham
order = 13th
office = Governor of Florida
term_start =January 4 ,1881
term_end =January 7 ,1885
lieutenant =
predecessor =George Franklin Drew
successor =Edward A. Perry
order2 = 17th
office2 = Governor of Florida
term_start2 =January 5 ,1897
term_end2 =January 8 ,1901
lieutenant2 =
predecessor2 =Henry L. Mitchell
successor2 =William Sherman Jennings
birth_date =July 9 ,1835
birth_place =Leon County, Florida
death_date =March 15 ,1911
death_place =Tallahassee, Florida
party = Democratic
spouse =
profession =
religion =William Dunnington Bloxham (
July 9 ,1835 –March 15 ,1911 ) was an American politician. He served as the thirteenth and seventeenth governor ofFlorida in two non-consecutive terms. Prior to his first term as governor, he served in the Florida House of Representatives.He was the first Democrat to hold the office of governor after the Civil War. In between his terms as governor, he served as state
comptroller under GovernorFrancis P. Fleming . Bloxham was only the second governor ofFlorida to be born in the state.Early life and career
Bloxham was born on a
plantation inLeon County, Florida , the son of William and Martha (Williams) Bloxham.The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, p. 382.] Headley, p. 695.] Douglas, p. 281.] His great-grandfather had migrated fromEngland to manageGeorge Washington 's plantation and his grandfather endured adversity due to theWar of 1812 . His father was fromAlexandria, Virginia and moved to Leon County to run a plantation in 1825, becoming one of few white settlers in a Native American-dominated area. The elder William served in theSeminole Wars . Martha Bloxham was born inTwiggs County, Georgia and moved to Florida as a child.The younger Bloxham went to county school in Florida before being sent to preparatory school in Virginia at age 13. For the next seven years, he attended Virginia schools including Rappahannock Academy where his teachers included eventual U.S. Senator
William Mahone . Bloxham graduated fromThe College of William & Mary in 1855 and acquired a law degree from the college. He was admitted to theFlorida Bar but, when his health declined, he travelled toEurope and chose the more active life of a planter when he returned. In November 1856, he and Mary C. Davis travelled to her home city ofLynchburg, Virginia to be married.Bloxham became interested in politics and actively campaigned for
James Buchanan in the 1856 presidential election.Headley, pp. 695-696.] In 1861, he was elected to theFlorida House of Representatives without opposition.Headley, p. 696.] [http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=39ab224971c81010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=e449a0ca9e3f1010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD Florida Governor William Dunnington Bloxham] fromNational Governors Association web site. AccessedApril 1 ,2008 .] With the Civil War raging in 1862, Bloxham organized a company ofinfantry from Leon County which he commanded for the duration of the war. After the war, he staunchly opposed Reconstruction and, using his popularity as a speaker, was a leading voice among Florida Democrats. He served as a Presidential Elector for theHoratio Seymour /Francis Preston Blair, Jr. Democratic ticket in the 1868 election.1870 election controversy
In 1870, Bloxham was at the center of a political firestorm during one of Florida's most violent periods. The Republican
carpetbagger s were being resisted in Florida, often violently, by groups like theKu Klux Klan . On Election Day of 1870, the most violent counties were inundated with federal troops at the request of GovernorHarrison Reed . The chaos of that day included constitutional convention member,William Capers Bird , pointing ahandgun atAfrican American state senatorRobert Meacham on the courthouse steps in Monticello, reportedly warning, "no damnednigger shall vote here."Manley, p. 244.]When the voting finally ended, it appeared that Bloxham had won the Lieutenant Governor race. Republicans used the chaos of the day as an excuse for rejecting the votes of nine largely-Democratic counties, but Bloxham sought an
injunction from theFlorida Circuit Courts to prevent tainted results from being announced. A circuit judge granted the injunction but a federalgrand jury indicted the judge. With the circuit judge in jail, the Republican-led board of canvassers rejected enough ballots to overturn Bloxham's victory in favor of RepublicanSamuel T. Day .Bloxham pushed the election dispute to the
Florida Supreme Court , filing for a writ ofmandamus onJanuary 10 ,1871 to force a recount. While theFlorida Attorney General disagreed that a recount could be ordered, the Supreme Court Chief Justice sided with Bloxham. Republican legislators countered by repealing the law which created the board of canvassers in the first place and the Supreme Court was unable to compel the board to recount when the board effectively ceased to exist.Manley, p. 245.] Bloxham applied to the supreme court for a writ ofquo warranto onFebruary 20 ,1871 to challenge Day's victory, but the case did not begin untilNovember 15 .Manley, pp. 245-246.] OnJune 1 ,1872 , the court finally ruled that Bloxham had won the 1870 election, by which time he had missed every state senate session in the term, meaning the term was effectively concluded.Manley, p. 246.] Although he took the oath of office onJune 3 , he couldn't perform the lieutenant governor's only duty, which was to preside over the Senate. [cite book |last=Tebeau |first=Charlton W. |title=A History of Florida |publisher=University of Miami Press |location=Coral Gables, FL |year=1980 |page=252 |isbn=0870241494 ] Thus, he is not named in lists of Florida's lieutenant governors. [citation|year=2007| editor-last = Morris| editor-first = Allen| editor2-last = Morris| editor2-first = Joan Perry|title=The Florida Handbook 2007-2008| publication-place = Tallahassee, FL|publisher=Peninsular|page=39|isbn=9780976584612] Regardless, the ruling marked the first win for theFlorida Democratic Party since the war.Governorship and the Disston Land Purchase
In the summer of 1872, Bloxham was unanimously nominated at the Jacksonville Democratic Convention to run for Governor with Confederate General
Robert Bullock as his running mate. In November, a severe Election Day storm reduced the vote count and Bloxham was defeated by RepublicanOssian B. Hart by 1,200 votes.Manley, p. 224.] Hart, who had tried to claimAbijah Gilbert 's U.S. Senate seat two years earlier, died barely a year into his term. Bloxham served on the State Democratic Executive Committee and actively participated in the successful gubernatorial campaign ofGeorge Franklin Drew , promising protection to African Americans who voted for him. Bloxham was named Secretary of State.In June 1880, Bloxham was nominated again to run for Governor and so resigned as Secretary of State. In his second attempt, he won the election by over 5,000 and was inaugurated on
January 4 ,1881 . Bloxham inherited a state debt of $1 million and a lawsuit that placed alien on millions of acres of Florida land.Grunwald, p. 72.] Before his first month as governor was complete, Bloxham and Florida signed an agreement withPhiladelphia saw manufacturing heir,Hamilton Disston , whereby Disston would attempt to drain theEverglades and would receive half of the land he reclaimed.Grunwald, p. 85.] With Disston actively planning his drainage efforts, Bloxham personally travelled to Philadelphia to make an even larger deal with him. OnJune 14 ,1881 , Disston signed a contract to purchase four million acres (16,000 km²) of Florida land, larger than the state ofConnecticut , for $1 million, a purchase which made international news.Grunwald, p. 86.] When Disston and a second buyer, SirEdward James Reed , paid in full, the state was out of debt and the first land boom soon followed.Grunwald, pp. 86-87.]Towards the end of Bloxham's first stint as Governor, in 1884, call for revision to the
Florida Constitution increased, fueled by division among the state's democrats. Supporters of Bloxham's predecessor,George Franklin Drew , criticized Bloxham for the Disston Land Purchase as well as his apparent commitment toFlorida Panhandle development at the expense of the rest of the state. They rallied around ConfederateGeneral Edward A. Perry and a call for a Constitutional Convention. In 1884, Bloxham lost the Democratic nomination to Perry and voters approved the convention which led to the 1885 Florida Constitution.Manley, pp. 267-268.]econd term
On
April 18 ,1885 , Bloxham was appointed Minister Resident and Consul General to Bolivia by PresidentGrover Cleveland . Bloxham took the oath of office but declined to report for the post. [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/com/10393.htm List of Ambassadors to Bolivia] from theUnited States Department of State web site. AccessedApril 1 ,2008 .] cite news
title=Selected as Ministers
url=http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9802E0D61F3BE033A2575AC1A9629C94649FD7CF&oref=slogin
format=PDF
publisher=The New York Times
date=April 19 1885
accessdate=2008-03-30] Instead, he accepted a November 1885 appointment to become the U.S.Surveyor General for Florida which he held until December 1889. When the statecomptroller position became vacant onMay 1 ,1890 , GovernorFrancis P. Fleming appointed Bloxham to fill it. Bloxham was unanimously nominated for the position in August 1890 and easily won the election, and was easily re-elected in 1892.Comptroller Bloxham ran for governor and was victorious in 1896, 12 years after leaving the office. Despite his conservative reputation, Bloxham left his mark in his second term by reinstating and expanding the powers of a railroad commission, restricting monopolies and creating a state-wide
audit or to eliminate government fraud and waste. Fire insurance company regulation was initiated and women served as public notaries for the first time during Bloxham's second stint as governor.Manley, p. 328.]William Bloxham died on
March 15 ,1911 inTallahassee, Florida . A plannedBloxham County, Florida centered aroundWilliston, Florida , was rejected by a referendum in 1915. [http://www.jud10.org/Courthouses/Levy/levy.html Levy County Courthouse] at the Florida's 10th Judicial Circuit web site. AccessedApril 1 ,2008 .]Other
William Bloxham was a
cotton plantation owner in Leon County,Florida from the late 1850s owner of theWilliam D. Bloxham Plantation .Notes
References
*
The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography (1901), [http://books.google.com/books?id=-t4DAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA382&dq=Florida+Bloxham&num=100&ei=g1TlR86cEJ3AzASfzqzTBA Volume XI] , J. T. White Company, p. 382.
*cite book
last=Douglas
first=Marjory Stoneman
authorlink=Marjory Stoneman Douglas
others=With an update by Michael Grunwald
title= (60th Anniversary Edition)
publisher=Pineapple Press
origyear=1947
year=2007
isbn=1561643947
*cite book
last=Manley
first=Walter W. II
title=The Supreme Court of Florida and Its Predecessor Courts, 1821-1917
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=6DZsiFB1Oj8C&pg=PA245&lpg=PA245&dq=Bloxham+lieutenant+governor&source=web&ots=AwJwpr8DXN&sig=LBCjNWHhR1Fu_w7OM-y27UjE7g8&hl=en#PPA224,M1
coauthors=Eric W. Rise, E. Canter Brown Jr.,Florida Supreme Court Historical Society
publisher=University Press of Florida
origyear=1998
origmonth=February
isbn=0813015405
*cite book
last=Headley
first=Phineas Camp
title=Public Men of To-day
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=absBAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA695&dq=William+Bloxham&ei=YyDsR-z0Eoa4zATa9pzMCw
publisher=S. S. Scranton & Company
location=Hartford, Connecticut
year=1882
pages=pp. 695-698
series=First Series
*cite book
last=Grunwald
first=Michael
title=The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise
publisher=Simon & Schuster
isbn=9780743251051
year=2006External links
* [http://dhr.dos.state.fl.us/museum/collections/governors/about.cfm?id=20 Official Governor's portrait and biography from the State of Florida]
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