James Cowgill was State Treasurer of Missouri

State Treasurer of Missouri

The State Treasurer of Missouri is a statewide elected official responsible for serving as Missouri's chief financial officer. The current State Treasurer is Clint Zweifel.-Duties of the State Treasurer:...

 from 1908 to 1912 and Kansas City, Missouri Mayor from 1918 until he died in office.

He was born on a farm in Henry County, Indiana

Henry County, Indiana

As of the census of 2000, there were 48,508 people, 19,486 households, and 13,971 families residing in the county. The population density was 124 people per square mile . There were 20,592 housing units at an average density of 52 per square mile...

. He was in the Union Army with the 9th Indiana Infantry in 1864 to 1865.

He moved to a Caldwell County, Missouri

Caldwell County, Missouri

Caldwell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. , the population was 8,969. Its county seat is Kingston. The county was organized in 1836 as a haven for the Mormons, who had been previously driven from Jackson County, Missouri in November of 1833 and had been refugees in...

 farm in 1868. He was elected presiding Judge of the Caldwell County Court in 1882 and in 1890. He represented the county in the Missouri General Assembly

Missouri General Assembly

The Missouri General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bicameral General Assembly is composed of a 34-member Senate, and a 163-member House of Representatives. Members of both houses of the General Assembly are subject to term limits...

.

He moved to Kansas City in 1893 and was elected city treasurer in 1900. He was president of the Pioneer Life Insurance Company. After serving as State Treasurer, he was Chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee in 1916. He was member of the Kansas City Board of Elections in 1917 and elected mayor in 1918. He died at his desk.