Eli C. D. Shortridge was an American politician who was the third Governor

Governor of North Dakota

The Governor of North Dakota is the chief executive of North Dakota. The current Governor is Jack Dalrymple. The Governor has the right to sign and laws, and to call the Legislative Assembly, into emergency session. The Governor is also chairman of the North Dakota Industrial Commission. The...

 of North Dakota

North Dakota

North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

 from 1893 to 1895. Eli C. D. Shortridge was the first governor to live in the executive mansion

North Dakota Governor's Residence

The North Dakota Governor's Residence is the home of the Governor of North Dakota. The current residence is located on the southwest corner of the North Dakota State Capitol grounds in Bismarck, and is the second official residence that has been built for North Dakota's governors.-Former Governors'...

.

Biography

Born Eli Charles Daniel Shortridge, eighth of nine children born to Levi and Elizabeth Love Shortridge, he grew up in Monroe County, Missouri, and completed his education at an academy located near Paris, Missouri

Paris, Missouri

Paris is a city in Monroe County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,529 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Monroe County.-Geography:Paris is located at...

. He moved to Larimore, North Dakota

Larimore, North Dakota

-Today:Unlike many of small towns in North Dakota, Larimore has maintained a relatively stable population for the last forty years. Its close proximity to employment opportunities in Grand Forks and at the Grand Forks Air Force Base have led the town to become an attractive choice for commuters...

 with his family, second wife Anna Burton and twin daughters, in 1882, and ran for governor ten years later in 1893 on a fusion ticket

Electoral alliance

An electoral alliance may take the form of a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc. It is an association of political parties or individuals which exists solely to stand in elections...

 composed of Populists, Democrats

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

, and the Farmers' Alliance

Farmers' Alliance

The Farmers Alliance was an organized agrarian economic movement amongst U.S. farmers that flourished in the 1880s. One of the goals of the organization was to end the adverse effects of the crop-lien system on farmers after the American Civil War...

, who merged into a single political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

.

During his administration, Shortridge approved the issuance of $50,000 in bonds to construct the south wing of the state capitol and approved the purchase of an executive mansion for the governor's residence

Governor's Residence

The Governor's Residence Hotel is a Victorian-style hotel located in Dagon Township, Yangon, Myanmar , located in a teak mansion from the 1920s...

. He also supported an appropriation for a state elevator at Duluth, Minnesota

Duluth, Minnesota

Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...

. An out-of-state terminal elevator was not constructed largely due to a provision requiring North Dakota sovereignty over any elevator site. The bill passed, but the provision that Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 or Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 would have to cede sovereignty over the site created an unacceptable situation for both states. Governor Shortridge retired from office after one term. He was appointed clerk of the General Land Office

General Land Office

The General Land Office was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department of the Treasury...

 at Devils Lake, North Dakota

Devils Lake, North Dakota

As of the 2000 Census, there were 7,222 people, 3,127 households, and 1,773 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,508 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 89.23% White, 0.22% African American, 7.84% Native American, 0.28%...

.

After the death of Elizabeth, Shortridge married a third time to Dorcas Virginia Brady and they had 5 additional children.

External links

• Biography for Eli C. D. Shortridge from the State Historical Society of North Dakota website.