Background
Howard, William Alanson was born on April 8, 1813 in Hinesburg, Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Son of Dan and Esther (Spencer) Howard.
United States representative politician
Howard, William Alanson was born on April 8, 1813 in Hinesburg, Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Son of Dan and Esther (Spencer) Howard.
When he was fourteen, Howard apprenticed to a cabinet maker at Albion, New New York He graduated from Middlebury College at Middlebury, Vermont in 1839.
Howard was the sixth Governor of the Dakota Territory from 1878 to 1880. Howard taught school before moving to Michigan for health reasons. Howard spent a year teaching mathematics at the University of Michigan.
Then, Howard studied law and was admitted to the Michigan bar in 1842 before practicing law in Detroit.
In 1856, he was elected to the House as an Oppositionist. In 1860, he supported Abraham Lincoln"s bid for the presidency.
Howard left Congress in early 1861. He became Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party from 1862 to 1868.
From 1869 to 1871, Howard served as land commissioner of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railway.
In 1871, Howard ran unsuccessfully as a Republican candidate for the United States Senate. From 1872 to 1878, Howard was the land commissioner of the North Pacific Railway. In 1878, Howard was appointed as Governor of Dakota Territory by President Rutherford B. Hayes.
The appointment was approved April 12, 1878.
At the age of sixty-six, Howard came to Dakota Territory and served as Governor until the time of his death, spending the last part of his life residing in Yankton, Dakota Territory. Howard died in Washington, District of Columbia.
Republican Party, Whig Party.
In 1854, Howard successfully ran for Representative in Congress from Michigan"s 1st congressional district as a member of the Whig Party.
Married Ellen Jane Birchard, March 1, 1841, 2 sons including James Birchard, 2 daus.