Josiah Williams Begole, American governor of Michigan, congressman. member Michigan Senate, 1870, 71; member Flint City Council 3 years; member United States House
Background
Begole was born in Groveland, New New York Josiah"s father, William (1786–1862) was born there and moved to Livingston County, New York in 1802. William served in the War of 1812 and married the daughter of an American Revolutionary War veteran.
Education
He attended the public schools in Mount Morris and Temple Hill Academy in Geneseo, New New York
Career
Three of Williams sons, including Josiah, the eldest, eventually moved to Genesee County, Michigan. Begole moved to Flint, Michigan in the in August 1836 and taught school in 1837 and 1838. He engaged in agricultural pursuits from 1839 to 1856 and was school inspector, justice of the peace and township treasurer.
He was county treasurer 1856–1864.
He was briefly engaged in the lumber business in 1863. During that time, he served on the Committees of Finance and Railroads, and was Chairman of the Committee on the Institute for the Deaf and Dumb and Blind.
He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention at Philadelphia in 1872 to re-nominate United States. President Ulysses South. Grant and to nominate Henry Wilson as the new Vice President. Begole was elected as a Republican from Michigan"s 6th congressional district to the United States House of Representatives for the 43rd Congress, serving from March 4, 1873 to March 3, 1875.
He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1874 and resumed the lumber business.
He later engaged in the manufacture of wagons and also engaged in banking. In 1882, Begole was gubernatorial candidate of the Greenback and Democratic parties, defeating the Republican incumbent David Jerome by over 7,000 votes. He served one term from 1883 to 1885.
As a former Republican who ousted a Republican incumbent, Begole faced many obstacles with a Republican-dominated legislature.
As a result, the establishment of the state bureau of labor statistics was one of the few acts that was approved. He ran for re-election in 1884, but was defeated by Republican Russell Alger, after which he resumed his former business activities.
He was an early activist for women"s suffrage, and in 1884 Begole became vice president of the first statewide suffrage organization, the Michigan Equal Suffrage Association. Begole died at the age of eighty-one in Flint and is interred in Glenwood Cemetery there.
Politics
Democratic Party, Republican Party.
Membership
Being an anti-slavery man, he became a member of the Republican party at its organization. He was a member of the Michigan Senate in 1870 and 1871, and a member of the Flint City Council for three years. During that time, he was a member of the Committee on Agricultural and Public Expenditures.