Josiah Begole
Josiah Williams Begole ( born January 20, 1815 in Groveland, Livingston County, New York, † June 5, 1896 in Flint, Michigan ) was an American politician and from 1883 to 1885 the 19th Governor of Michigan. This state he represented also in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Early years and political rise
Josiah Begole attended elementary school in Mount Morris and the Temple Hill Academy in Geneseo. In 1836 he moved to Flint, Michigan. There he worked as a farmer and teacher. Later he went into the wood and banking. He was also School Board, City Treasurer and Justice of the Peace.
Begole was a staunch opponent of slavery. Therefore, he was in 1854 involved in the founding of the Republican Party, whose member he was also for many years. Between 1856 and 1864 was Begole eunuchs in Genesee County. From 1870 to 1871 he sat in the Senate from Michigan. In 1872 he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention, was again nominated on the Ulysses S. Grant as a presidential candidate. Between 1873 and 1875 represented Begole his state in Congress in Washington. Then he has fallen out with his party. In 1882 he was elected as the common candidate of the Democrats and the Greenback Party as the new governor of his state.
Governor of Michigan
Begole joined his two-year term on January 1, 1883. As a former Republican, he had a hard time against his former party colleagues, who gave him the difficult governance and almost all originals blocked in Parliament. One of the few measures of the governor, he was able to prevail, the establishment of an employment office was (State Bureau of Labor Statistics ). In the gubernatorial election of 1884 Begole defeated his Republican opponent Russell Alexander Alger. Therefore, he had to give up his post on 1 January 1885.
After the end of his tenure, Begole drew largely withdrew from politics. He campaigned very much for the women's rights movement and supported their demand for the right to vote. Josiah Begole died in June 1896. He was married to Harriet A. Miles, with whom he had five children.
Pictures of Josiah Begole
