Marsh Giddings

Marsh Giddings

Marsh Giddings (born November 19, 1816 in Fairfield County , Connecticut , † June 3, 1875 in Santa Fe , New Mexico ) was an American politician and governor of the New Mexico Territory from 1871 to 1875 .

Early years

At the age of 13, Giddings moved with his parents to Kalamazoo County , Michigan . Then he attended the Western Reserve College in Hudson ( Ohio ). However, he did not graduate from this school. At the age of 21 he was elected Justice of the Peace for Richland Township , Michigan.

Political rise

In 1849, Giddings was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives. Between 1860 and 1868 he was a probate judge in Michigan. In 1864 he was one of the Republican electors in the presidential election . Between 1866 and 1870 he was on the Republican National Committee . In 1867 he was also a member of a committee to review the Michigan constitution.

President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Giddings as American consul in Calcutta , India, in 1870 . Gidding accepted and received a corresponding salary. In fact, he never made the trip to India. The reason he gave was his poor health. As a result, his fellow party member Grant named him the new territorial governor in New Mexico.

Territorial Governor of New Mexico

When he arrived in New Mexico , he found a wild and lawless land. He tried to suppress the prevailing violence with the help of the army, but soon found that he had no authority to put the army on the march. Thus he was powerless against violence and lawlessness. Giddings died during his tenure and his State Secretary William Gillet Ritch had to take over the office of governor until the arrival of his successor Samuel Beach Axtell . Marsh Giddings was married to Louisa Mills since 1836.

Web links

• Marsh Giddings in the database of Find a Grave (English)