John W. Dawson (politician)

John W. Dawson

John W. Dawson (born October 21, 1820 in Cambridge , Wayne County , Indiana , † September 10, 1877 ) was an American lawyer, farmer, newspaper editor and politician ( Republican Party ).

In 1854 he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Indiana House of Representatives . He also failed in 1856 with his candidacy for the office of Secretary of State of Indiana and then in 1858 for a seat in Congress . He began his political career as a Democrat , but soon switched to the Republicans. President Abraham Lincoln made him governor of the Utah Territory in 1861 , but due to tension with the local Mormons , he left his post after just three weeks. Dawson made "rough and inappropriate proposals" to Mormon widow Albina Merrill Williams, who then hit him with a fire shovel. When he offered her $ 3,000 for her silence, she reprimanded him and he left Salt Lake City quickly on New Year's Eve, 1861 .

Dawson took a stagecoach east and reached Ephraim Hanks' Pony Express stop near Mountain Dell, Utah. Hanks assured Dawson that he would be safe there. However, a group of young Mormons persecuted him. These included Jason Luce, Matthew Luce, Wilford Luce, Wood Reynolds, Moroni Clawson, Lot Hungtington and Isaac Neibaur. In a subsequent night-time operation, they ambushed him, robbed him, beat and kicked him together and allegedly castrated him as well. They later claimed they were under the direct orders of the Salt Lake Police Chief . Four of the youths were captured, with the other three shot dead by police and sheriffs while trying to escape . Dawson later became known as the first biographer of John Chapman .

He died in 1877 and was subsequently buried in Lindenwood Cemetery in Fort Wayne , Indiana.

Web links

The governors of Utah

Individual evidence

^ Governor Dawson's Statement. In: Deseret News of January 22, 1862, pp. 2 ff. (English).
^ Exciting and Terrifying Occurrences . In: Deseret News of January 22, 1862, pp. 5 ff. (English).
↑ Will Bagley: Third Governor Was Run Out of Utah After 3 Weeks. In: Salt Lake Tribune, December 30, 2001, p. B1.
↑ The Political Graveyard (English).

personal data
SURNAME	Dawson, John W.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American lawyer, farmer, newspaper editor and politician
DATE OF BIRTH	October 21, 1820
PLACE OF BIRTH	Cambridge , Indiana
DATE OF DEATH	September 10, 1877

[1] Governor Dawson's Statement. In: Deseret News of January 22, 1862, pp. 2 ff. (English).

[2] Exciting and Terrifying Occurrences . In: Deseret News of January 22, 1862, pp. 5 ff. (English).

[3] Will Bagley: Third Governor Was Run Out of Utah After 3 Weeks. In: Salt Lake Tribune, December 30, 2001, p. B1.

[4] The Political Graveyard (English).