Daniel Woodson (May 24, 1824 – October 5, 1894) was secretary of Kansas Territory (1854–1857) and a five-time acting governor of the territory.

Early life

Woodson was born on a farm in Albemarle County, Virginia and orphaned at age 7. He was apprenticed as a printer and became quite skilled at the trade. For eight years Woodson served as coeditor and publisher of the Democratic newspaper ''Lynchburg Republican''. In 1851, he became editor of the Richmond ''Republican-Advocate'', another Democratic newspaper.

Political career

Woodson was appointed secretary of the Kansas Territory by President Franklin Pierce on June 29, 1854, and took the oath of office in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, on September 28, drawing an annual salary of $2,000. Because he was fully sympathetic to those who wanted to make Kansas a slave state, he agreed with the wishes of the proslavery forces in the territory. While Governor Andrew Reeder was away from the territory, Woodson became acting governor, signing the first laws passed by the territorial legislature. Even though this first territorial legislature was accepted by the federal government, free staters called the laws "bogus laws". Altogether, Woodson served as acting governor for a little more than five months during the absences of governors Andrew Reeder,

Wilson Shannon Wilson Shannon (February 24, 1802 – August 30, 1877) was a Democratic politician from Ohio and Kansas. He served as the 14th and 16th governor of Ohio, and was the first Ohio governor born in the state. He was the second governor of the Kansas ...

, and John W. Geary.

Later life

Woodson spent his last years in

Parker, Kansas Parker is a city in Linn County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 241. History Parker was laid out about 1889. It was named for J.W. Parker, who owned the town site. The first post office in Parker ...

, where he was actively helping to establish a town which its residents believed would be located along a railroad line. When the railroad bypassed Parker, most of the citizens – including Woodson – relocated to

Coffeyville, Kansas Coffeyville is a city in southeastern Montgomery County, Kansas, United States, located along the Verdigris River in the state's southeastern region. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,826. Coffeyville is the most popul ...

. Woodson operated a variety of newspapers, including the ''Coffeyville Journal.'' He was visiting Claremore, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), when he died in 1894.

Legacy

Woodson County, Kansas Woodson County (standard abbreviation: WO) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 3,115. Its county seat is Yates Center. History Early history For many millennia, the Great Plains ...

was named for him in 1855. It was the only county named for a Kansas territorial official, until 1889 when Davis County was renamed Geary County.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodson, Daniel Governors of Kansas Territory People from Albemarle County, Virginia 1824 births 1894 deaths Kansas Democrats 19th-century American politicians