Born in Boone County, Missouri, in 1832, Woods moved with his family to Oregon, where he attended school. He prospected for gold and practiced law before entering politics. A founder of the Republican party in Oregon, he was named to the Idaho Territory Supreme Court in 1865 and ran successfully for governor of Oregon in 1866. When Woods failed to …

Born in Alabama, in 1838, Vaughan was Territorial Secretary in Utah when Governor Shaffer died. Ulysses S. Grant named him to fill the vacancy. The only event of consequence during his administration was the Wooden Gun Rebellion—an illegal (according to Shaffer’s proclamation) drill in November 1870 by members of the Nauvoo Legion. Undoubtedly a lark, the incident nevertheless resulted in …

John Wilson Shaffer was born in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1827, but little else is known of his early life. Brevetted brigadier general in the Union Army, he was active in Republican politics in Illinois before Ulysses S. Grant named him governor of Utah in 1870. He was determined to carry out Grant’s policy of crushing “rebellion” in the territory, a …

A native of Royalton, Vermont, born in 1805, Durkee became a business, civic, and political leader in Wisconsin, serving as territorial legislator, congressman, and U.S. senator (1855–61), affiliated at various times with the Liberty, Free Soil, and Republican parties. Appointed governor in 1865, Durkee pursued an energetic course oriented toward territorial development and harmony with the Mormons, although he was …

Born in Salem, New York, in 1799, Doty married Sarah Collins and served in several government posts in Michigan before moving to Wisconsin, where he was a delegate to Congress, territorial governor (1841–44), and state legislator. Originally a Democrat, he became a Free Soiler and then a Republican.  Abraham Lincoln named him superintendent of Indian affairs for Utah in 1861 …

A native of Ontario County, New York, and an ardent abolitionist, Harding married Avoline Sprout and practiced law in Indiana before Abraham Lincoln named him governor of the Utah Territory in 1862. Conciliatory toward the Mormons at first, he soon became critical of church leaders and the practice of polygamy. The Mormons successfully petitioned for his removal. He served as …

Born in 1820, a native of Cambridge, Indiana, Dawson married Amanda Thornton and was a lawyer, farmer, and newspaper editor before entering politics as a KnowNothing. He later was a Democrat, and finally a Republican. Abraham Lincoln named him governor in 1861. Antagonistic toward the Mormons and despised by them, Dawson left for the East after less than a month …

Charles S. Peterson Utah History Encyclopedia, 1994 Alfred Cumming was the second governor of Utah Territory. A native of Augusta, Georgia, where he was born in 1802, Cumming was of a distinguished family and was widely experienced in Western political and business affairs. He had served as mayor of Augusta, as sutler to Zachary Taylor’s army in the Mexican War …

Newell G. Bringhurst Utah History Encyclopedia, 1994 Brigham Young was born in 1801 born in Whittingham, Vermont. He was the ninth of eleven children, growing up in an unsettled frontier environment characterized by frequent family moves to various communities throughout upstate New York. Despite the influences of a strict, moralistic family and being exposed to the religious fervor that characterized …

Gary Richard Herbert is Utah’s seventeenth governor. Prior to becoming governor, he served as Lieutenant Governor under Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. for nearly five years, before taking the Oath of Office on Aug. 11, 2009. Governor Herbert was born in American Fork, Utah, and raised in Orem, Utah. After graduating from Orem High School, Mr. Herbert served a two-year …