Background
Bulow was born of German ancestry to Joseph and Elizabeth (Ebendorf) Bulow near Moscow in Clermont County, Ohio, where he was raised and educated.
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Bulow was born of German ancestry to Joseph and Elizabeth (Ebendorf) Bulow near Moscow in Clermont County, Ohio, where he was raised and educated.
In 1893, he graduated with a law degree from the University of Michigan.
He was twice married - to Katherine J. Reedy and to Sarah (Johnson) Farrand. During 1893, Bulow moved to South Dakota. He resided in Sioux Falls, where he worked for the Joe Kirby office.
Then, he came by horse and carriage to Beresford, where he set up his own law office and helped to develop the town.
He was elected to the state senate of the South Dakota Legislature in 1898. While residing in Beresford, Bulow spent twenty-five years as city attorney from 1902 to 1927, except while serving as mayor from 1912 to 1913.
He also served as County Judge for Beresford in 1918. As governor, he pardoned the famous frontier gambler Poker Alice after her conviction of bootlegging and other charges related to running a house of prostitution.
During his entire life, Bulow kept a legal residence in Beresford, South Dakota and voted by absentee ballot.
He was defeated for renomination for a third term in the South Dakota Democratic primary by former Governor Tom Berry. Buhlow then retired and spent the rest of his life residing at 3901 Connecticut Avenue Northwest in Washington, District of Columbia Bulow spent his last few years in failing health and was blind during his last four years. Beresford honored William J. Bulow in 1959 during the town"s seventy-five year jubilee observance.
The city"s park was dedicated as "Bulow Park" on June 3, 1959.
Years later, Bulow"s house in Beresford, South Dakota was declared a historic landmark (Governor William J Bulow House).
He was the first Democratic Governor of South Dakota, receiving the highest vote ever received by a Democratic candidate for governor up to that time, and then went on to serve as a member of the United States Senate. He was a member of the Alfalfa Club.