Ezekiel A. Straw

Ezekiel Albert Straw (born 30 December 1819 in Salisbury, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, † October 23, 1882 in Manchester, New Hampshire ) was an American politician and 1872-1874 Governor of the State of New Hampshire.

Early years

Shortly after his birth moved Ezekiel Straw's parents to Lowell (Massachusetts), where he attended the local schools. Later he graduated from Phillips Academy. Since 1838 he was employed by the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in Manchester. In this company he brought it up to 1871, as President. On behalf of his company, he was involved in the construction of the water supply of the city of Manchester.

Political rise

Straw was a member of the Republican Party. Between 1859 and 1864 he was a member of the House of Representatives from New Hampshire. After that, he was from 1864 to 1866 Member of the Senate of New Hampshire, in 1865, he was president of this chamber. In 1869 he served on the senior staff of Governor Onslow Stearns. A year later he was appointed to the Planning Commission of his state for the planned exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876, the 100th anniversary celebration of the United States.

Governor of New Hampshire

In 1872, Straw was elected as a candidate of his party against the incumbent James A. Weston, who should be back in 1874, his successor as the new governor of New Hampshire. After winning in 1876, another election against Weston, he could stay between 2 June 1872 and 3 June 1874 in this office. During this time, the governor worked on further reduction of public debt, which was a result of the cost of the Civil War. He called for better technical training in schools to better prepare future industrial workers in their profession can. In the then acute question of Prohibition, he suggested a local solution: Subordinate authorities such as counties or cities should decide in their respective sectors, as they wanted to approach the matter.

Further CV

After the end of his tenure, Straw again devoted his business interests. In 1876 he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention, was nominated at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Candidate. Otherwise Straw was President of several companies. He died in 1882. Together with his wife Charlotte Smith Webster Ezekiel Straw had four children.