Epaphroditus Ransom

Epaphroditus Ransom ( born March 24, 1798 in Shelburne Falls, Franklin County, Massachusetts, † November 11, 1859 in Fort Scott, Kansas) was an American lawyer and politician and from 1848 to 1850, the seventh Governor of the State of Michigan.

Early years and political rise

The source of information about Ransom's exact date of birth are different. Most likely March 24, 1798 appears because this date is written on his grave stone. Ransom attended the Chester Academy in Vermont. Then he studied until 1823 in Northampton (Massachusetts ) law. Then he started in Townshend (Vermont ) to work as a lawyer.

Ransom's political career began in Vermont. There he was for several years a deputy in the House of Representatives of the State, before he moved to Michigan in 1834. He was first in his new home as a judge in various courts operate. Among other things, he was 1843-1847 Presiding Judge ( Chief Justice ) on the Michigan Supreme Court on November 2, 1847, he was elected as a candidate of the Democratic Party as the new governor.

Governor of Michigan

Ransom took up his new post on January 3, 1848. He was the first governor of Michigan, who was sworn in the new capital of Lansing. In Ransom's tenure, the first telegraphic connection between Detroit and New York was made. At that time, the agricultural society of the state was founded. In the field of health care a hospital for mute, blind and mentally handicapped was built. In addition, the Government of the governor took care of the expansion of the road network. Due to his strict stance against slavery, he was within his party problems. For this reason, he was not nominated in 1849 as a candidate for the gubernatorial elections and he had after his two-year tenure divorced on January 7, 1850 from the office.

Further CV

Even after the end of his governorship Ransom remained politically active. From 1853 to 1854 he was a member of the House of Representatives from Michigan and a member of the Supervisory Board of the University of Michigan. He was also the first president of the Michigan Agricultural Society. An economic crisis in 1855, Ransom lost his personal fortune. Subsequently, he was appointed by U.S. President James Buchanan appointed head of the tax authority ( Receiver of Public Money ) at Fort Scott ( Kansas) in 1856. There is also Ransom died in 1859.

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