- Josiah Begole
Infobox Governor
name= Josiah Begole
caption=
order= 19th
office= Governor of Michigan
term_start=January 1 ,1883
term_end=January 1 ,1885
lieutenant=Moreau S. Crosby
predecessor=David Jerome
successor=Russell Alger
birth_date=January 20 ,1815
birth_place=Groveland, New York
death_date=June 5 ,1896
death_place=Flint, Michigan
spouse= Harriet A. Miles
party=Democrat
religion=Presbyterian Josiah Williams Begole (
January 20 ,1815 ndashJune 5 ,1896 ) was aU.S. Representative andGovernor of theU.S. state ofMichigan .Early life in New York
Begole was born in
Groveland, New York . His ancestors were FrenchHuguenot s who emigrated to theUnited States in the last quarter of the 18th century to escape religious persecution and settled inHagerstown, Maryland . Josiah's father, William (1786-1862) was born there and moved toLivingston County, New York in 1802. William served in theWar of 1812 and married the daughter of anAmerican Revolutionary War veteran. Three of Williams sons, including Josiah, the eldest, eventually moved toGenesee County, Michigan . He attended the public schools in Mount Morris and Temple Hill Academy in Geneseo, New York.Life and Politics in Michigan
Begole moved to
Flint, Michigan in the in August 1836 and taught school in 1837 and 1838. In the spring of 1839, he married Harriet A. Miles. He engaged in agricultural pursuits from 1839 to 1856 and was school inspector, justice of the peace and township treasurer. Being an anti-slavery man, he became a member of the Republican party at its organization. He was county treasurer 1856-1864. He was briefly engaged in the lumber business in 1863. His eldest son was killed during theAmerican Civil War nearAtlanta, Georgia in 1864, and was the greatest sorrow of his life.He was a member of the
Michigan Senate in 1870 and 1871, and a member of the FlintCity Council for three years. During that time, he served on the Committees of Finance and Railroads, and was Chairman of the Committee on the Institute for the Deaf and Dumb and Blind. He was a delegate to theRepublican National Convention atPhiladelphia in 1872 to re-nominateU.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and to nominateHenry Wilson as the new Vice President.Begole was elected as a Republican from
Michigan's 6th congressional district to theUnited States House of Representatives for the 43rd Congress, serving fromMarch 4 1873 toMarch 3 1875 . During that time, he was a member of the Committee on Agricultural and Public Expenditures. He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1874 and resumed the lumber business. He later engaged in the manufacture of wagons and also engaged in banking.Governor
In 1882, Begole was gubernatorial candidate of the Greenback and Democratic parties, defeating the Republican incumbent
David Jerome by over 7,000 votes. He served one term from 1883 to 1885. As a former Republican who ousted a Republican incumbent, Begole faced many obstacles with a Republican-dominatedlegislature . As a result, the establishment of the state bureau of labor statistics was of the few acts that was approved. He ran for re-election in 1884, but was defeated by RepublicanRussell Alger , after which he resumed his former business activities.He was an early activist for
women's suffrage , and in 1884 Begole became vice president of the first statewide suffrage organization, the Michigan Equal Suffrage Association.Retirement and death
Begole died at the age of eighty-one in Flint and is interred in Glenwood Cemetery there.
References
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/beetle-belch.html#R9M0IP4HZ The Political Graveyard]
* [http://www.memoriallibrary.com/MI/LivIngPB/gov~144-182.htm#Begole Begole's biography] from the public domain "Portrait & Biographical Album of Ingham and Livingston Counties, Michigan", published Chicago: Chapman Bros., 1891
* [http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=5b5a9ff1d69f2010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=e449a0ca9e3f1010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD National Governors Association]
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