William Alanson Howard
Encyclopedia
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Michigan from March 4, 1855 to March 3, 1859 and from May 15, 1860 to March 3, 1861. Howard was the Governor
Governors of Dakota Territory
Dakota Territory existed as an entity from 1861 until 1889, when it was divided into the states of North Dakota and South Dakota. The Territorial Governor was appointed by the President of the United States....
of the Dakota Territory
Dakota Territory
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...
from 1878 to 1880.
Biography
William Howard was born at Hinesburg, VermontHinesburg, Vermont
Hinesburg is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The town was named for Abel Hine, town clerk. The population was 4,340 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
. When he was fourteen, Howard apprenticed to a cabinet maker at Albion, New York
Albion, New York
Albion may refer to the following places in the U.S. state of New York:* Albion , Orleans County, New York* Albion , Orleans County, New York* Albion, Oswego County, New York, a town...
. He graduated from Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
at Middlebury, Vermont in 1839. Howard taught school before moving to Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
for health reasons. Howard spent a year teaching mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. Then, Howard studied law and was admitted to the Michigan bar in 1842 before practicing law in Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. In 1854, Howard successfully ran for Representative in Congress from Michigan's 1st congressional district
Michigan's 1st congressional district
Michigan's 1st congressional district is a United States Congressional district containing the entire Upper Peninsula of Michigan as well as part of the Lower Peninsula. Currently the district is represented by Republican Dan Benishek.-Geography:...
as a member of the Whig party
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
. In 1860, he supported Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
's bid for the presidency. Howard left congress in early 1861. He became Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party
Michigan Republican Party
The Michigan Republican Party is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party in Michigan. It is sometimes referred to as MIGOP, which simply means Michigan Grand Old Party....
from 1862-1868. From 1869 to 1871, Howard served as land commissioner of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railway. In 1871, Howard ran unsuccessfully as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
candidate for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. 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
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
. 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
Yankton, South Dakota
Yankton is a city in, and the county seat of, Yankton County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 14,454 at the 2010 census. Yankton was the original capital of Dakota Territory. It is named for the Yankton tribe of Nakota Native Americans...
, Dakota Territory
Dakota Territory
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...
. Howard died in Washington, DC.