William Jayne

William A. Jayne ( born October 8, 1826 in Springfield, Illinois, † March 20, 1916 ) was an American physician and politician and from 1861 to 1863 the first territorial governor of Dakota Territory.

Early years and political rise

William Jayne attended the Illinois College and then studied until 1849 at the University of Missouri Medicine. Then he opened a medical practice in Springfield. During this time Abraham Lincoln was one of his patients. William Jayne was also politically active and was 1859-1861 Mayor of Springfield. Since 1860 he was a member of the Illinois Senate. In 1861 he resigned from his position after he had been appointed by President Lincoln for the first governor of the Dakota Territory.

Territorial Governor

William Jayne exercised the office of territorial governor from May 1861 to March 1863. He divided the populated areas into administrative districts. Next, generally binding laws were enacted. In addition to the civil and criminal law also included the tax legislation. The governor also established the first school system in its territory and the first militia of the country. Among the transactions of concurrent in the U.S. Civil War, the Dakota Territory was largely spared. But since 1862 you had to deal with Indian uprisings. These were the real reason for the founding of the militia. The battles should be drawn intermittently through the entire decade. After Jayne was elected as a representative of its territory to the U.S. House of Representatives, he resigned as governor.

Further CV

Between 4 March 1863 and 17 June 1864 he was a delegate in the U.S. Congress. Then he was forced to resign because of an election challenge was upheld. Then he returned to Springfield, where he worked as a doctor again and was elected 1865-1880 intermittently three times mayor. In 1869 he was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant to the pension Officer ( Pension Agent ) appointed by the Federal Government. This office he held for four years. In addition, Jayne was in a leading position on the board of First National Bank of Springfield. Since 1850 he was married to Julia Witherbee, with whom he had six children.