Benjamin Conley (March 1, 1815 – January 10, 1886) was an American politician from the state of Georgia, who served as the 47th Governor of Georgia from October 30, 1871, to January 12, 1872. He also previously served as the mayor of Augusta from 1857 to 1859.

Biography

Conley was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

, in his youth. He died in 1886 in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

in an area known at the time as West End. Conley was buried at Augusta's Magnolia Cemetery.

Political career

Conley's previous political service included the office of mayor of Augusta, Georgia, from 1857 to 1859. Conley served as the 47th Governor of Georgia from October 30, 1871, to January 12, 1872, during

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

and was the second

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

governor of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Conley was serving as the president of the

Georgia Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Legal provisions The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, with the lower house being the Georgia Ho ...

when his predecessor, Rufus B. Bullock, was forced to resign. Under the Constitution of Georgia in effect at that time, as the Senate president, Conley assumed the governorship and served for only two months. Conley was the last Republican to serve as governor of Georgia until 2003, when

Sonny Perdue George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III (born December 20, 1946) is an American veterinarian, businessman, politician, and university administrator who served as the 31st United States Secretary of Agriculture from 2017 to 2021. He previously served as t ...

became governor of Georgia.

References

Georgia State Archives Roster of State Governors

''Georgia Governor's Gravesites Field Guide (1776–2003)''

External links

at the

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...

Benjamin Conley entry
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...

* 1815 births 1886 deaths Republican Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators Republican Party governors of Georgia (U.S. state) Mayors of Augusta, Georgia Politicians from Newark, New Jersey Politicians from Savannah, Georgia 19th-century American politicians {{GeorgiaUS-mayor-stub