Samuel J. Crawford

Samuel J. Crawford

Samuel Johnson Crawford (born April 10, 1835 in Lawrence County , Indiana , † October 21, 1913 in Topeka , Kansas ) was an American politician and from 1865 to 1868 the third governor of the state of Kansas.

Early years

Samuel Crawford grew up on a farm in his native Indiana and attended local schools. After studying law in Cincinnati , he was admitted to the bar in 1858. Crawford moved to the Kansas Territory in 1859 . There he settled in Garnett as a lawyer. At the same time he became politically active. He helped found the Republican Party of Kansas and was elected to the state parliament in 1860 .

Civil war activities

After the outbreak of the Civil War , he resigned from his mandate to join a Kansas infantry unit. In the further course of the war he took part in several fights, especially in southern Missouri . He rose to the rank of colonel . Later he was even in retrospect to Brevet - Brigadier General appointed. In the meantime his party had nominated him as their candidate for the upcoming gubernatorial election in 1864. He won the elections on November 8, 1864 and was able to take office on January 9, 1865.

Kansas Governor

During Crawford's tenure, 36 new counties were established in Kansas. Funding has been provided to build new buildings to house government institutions. At the same time, the state's population grew rapidly. The expansion of the railways was financially secured through the sale of share certificates. A geological report for exploring the national territory was also commissioned. In the meantime, the governor also had to deal with Indian affairs because there had been clashes with the indigenous people. It is also worth mentioning the ratification of the 13th and 14th Amendment to the US Constitution by the state parliament. In 1866, Crawford became the first electoral governor of Kansas to be elected. But he ended his second term prematurely because he wanted to join the troops that were moving out to fight the Indians. Therefore, he resigned on November 4, 1868 also as the first governor of Kansas from this office. Lieutenant Governor Nehemiah Green had to end his current term of office.

Further life

Upon retiring from governor's office, Crawford became the commanding officer of the 19th Kansas Volunteer Regiment . This regiment joined a campaign against the Indians led by Generals Sheridan and Custer . After the end of his military service in March 1869, Crawford practiced again as a lawyer. Until 1876 he worked in the real estate business in the city of Emporia . Then he was the representative of Kansas in Washington as a "State Agent" for 14 years. There he succeeded in a series of lawsuits with the federal government over old claims of the state of Kansas against the federal government to win a considerable sum for Kansas. He also manages to get some lands back from the federal government. Samuel Crawford died in October 1913. He was married to Isabel Marshal Chase, with whom he had two children. His son-in-law Arthur Capper later also became governor of Kansas.

Web links

• Samuel Crawford in the National Governors Association (English)
• Crawford in the Kansas Historical Society (English)
• Samuel J. Crawford in the database of Find a Grave (English)