Background
John Griffith McCullough was born in Newark, Delaware. He was of Scotch and Welsh ancestry, the son of Alexander and Rebecca (Griffith) McCullough. At the age of seven he was left an orphan.
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John Griffith McCullough was born in Newark, Delaware. He was of Scotch and Welsh ancestry, the son of Alexander and Rebecca (Griffith) McCullough. At the age of seven he was left an orphan.
McCullough graduated with honors from Delaware College (University of Delaware), in 1855 and for the next three years studied law at the University of Pennsylvania, receiving the degree of LL. B. in 1858.
A complete failure of health drove him to California. Here, at Mariposa, in the foothills, he opened a law office. Political honors came quickly in the early days of California, and in 1861 the newcomer was elected to the legislature by a coalition of Republicans and Union Democrats. The following year he was sent to the state Senate. By this time the Union men had control of the state government. Several Republicans aspired to the United States Senate, among them Trenor W. Park, a Vermonter who had come to San Francisco and made a considerable fortune at the bar and by wise investments. McCullough supported Park, and in the caucus just before the election exposed the attempt of a rival to buy off one of Park's adherents. This incident led to recriminations, and eventually the legislature chose a war Democrat. In 1863 McCullough was elected attorney general and served one term of four years. While in office he represented the state in some 250 cases, his experience in enforcing ill-considered statutes leading him in one of his reports to declare that "too much legislation is one of the curses of the country. " He urged revision and codification, provided the legislature would employ competent legal talent; he criticized the code of criminal procedure and especially the rule making inadmissible the testimony of Asiatics; he urged a conservative policy in grants to railroads. Defeated for reelection along with the entire ticket, for the next five years he had a lucrative practice in San Francisco. Shortly thereafter, Park became president of the Panama Railroad, and in 1875 McCullough, having moved to Bennington, became the vice-president. Upon Park's death in 1883, with the support of Ferdinand de Lesseps, whose company now controlled the road, McCullough was made president and served as such until 1888. In the meantime he was elected to the directorates of other roads, among them the New York, Lake Erie & Western. Of the executive committee of its board he was made chairman in 1888. "The company was bankrupt de facto" (not an unusual experience for the Erie), and only by the "tact and resourcefulness" of the new regime was it kept out of the bankruptcy court.
Finally in 1893 it was unable to renew its floating debt of nine million, and to preclude attachments and the sacrifice of collaterals a friendly suit was brought and President John King and McCullough were appointed co-receivers. After some disagreement among the various interests, a reorganization was effected late in 1895. It has been called "the best that had ever been applied to the rehabilitation of Erie's affairs". For some years thereafter the road was prosperous. McCullough was also interested in the Central Vermont and the Bennington & Rutland railroads, serving as president of the latter from 1883 to 1900. During all this time he took a part in politics. As a delegate to the Republican national convention of 1880 he favored the nomination of Senator George F. Edmunds for the presidency, and in the conventions of 1888 and 1900, as a delegate-at-large, he supported the successful candidates from the start. He was a member of the Vermont Senate in 1898 and for a time hoped to head the state ticket. In matters of national policy he favored active competition for world markets and a "broader reciprocity" in the tariff; the growing friendliness with England met his hearty approval; he was mistrustful of the strain which the acquisition of the Philippines put upon American political institutions. In 1902 he entered upon what proved a lively scramble for the office of governor. Since 1852 Vermont had had prohibition; those favoring it and those opposed were about evenly balanced. In the pre-convention canvass Percival W. Clement, one of McCullough's rivals for the nomination, made an attack on prohibition. The convention adopted a plank calling for a referendum, and nominated McCullough for governor. Clement bolted his party, charging the Republicans with insincerity. McCullough received only a plurality of the votes, but was chosen by the legislature. The next year a license-local option referendum was carried by a narrow margin. After the expiration of his term he continued his railroad and banking connections until his death, which occurred in New York City.
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In his messages as governor McCullough advocated a primary election law, the development of roads without federal aid, and the conservation of the esthetic and economic values of forests and rivers.
On August 30, 1871, McCullough was married to Eliza.