David Marston Clough (December 27, 1846 – August 28, 1924) was an American lumberman and politician. He served in the

Minnesota State Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are hel ...

from January 1887 to January 1893. He served as the state's Lieutenant Governor, January 9, 1893 to January 31, 1895. He was the 13th

Governor of Minnesota The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. ...

from January 31, 1895 to January 2, 1899. He was a

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 ...

Life and career

Clough was born in 1846 in

Lyme, New Hampshire Lyme is a town along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,745 as of the 2020 census. Lyme is home to the Chaffee Natural Conservation Area. The Dartmouth Skiway is in the eastern part of tow ...

, the fourth of fourteen children of Sarah C. (Brown) and Elbridge G. Clough, New England farmers who resettled near the

Rum River The Rum River is a slow, meandering stream that connects Minnesota's Mille Lacs Lake with the Mississippi River. It runs for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 5, 2 ...

. Clough helped his family eke out a scanty living from the land by raising crops and cutting timber. His boyhood experiences would serve him well as both an entrepreneur and public servant in a state where agriculture and lumber dominated the economy. Clough's first business venture, a logging operation he founded at 20, lifted him from poverty and launched him on a path toward wealth and political prominence. He moved to

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

in 1872 and was elected to the city council eleven years later and then to the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are hel ...

. From the Senate, he advanced to the office of

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

under Republican

Knute Nelson Knute Nelson (born Knud Evanger; February 2, 1843 – April 28, 1923) was an American attorney and politician active in Wisconsin and Minnesota. A Republican, he served in state and national positions: he was elected to the Wisconsin and Minnesot ...

, whose election to the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

moved Clough into the governor's office. Clough's first administration was notable for the ratification of significant amendments to the state constitution, including those establishing the

Minnesota Board of Pardons The Minnesota Board of Pardons is the Parole board, pardon board of the U.S. state, state of Minnesota. The Board of Pardons consists of the Governor of Minnesota, the chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, and Minnesota Attorney General. Th ...

, withdrawing the right of aliens to vote, and authorizing municipalities to frame "home rule" charters. During his second term, narrowly won in 1896, the legislature raised taxes on several private industries and enacted child-labor laws. In 1900 the redoubtable railroad magnate

James J. Hill James Jerome Hill (September 16, 1838 – May 29, 1916) was a Canadian-American railroad director. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwes ...

urged Clough to establish a lumber operation near

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

. Until his death at age 77, the logger-turned- lumber baron lived in

Everett, Washington Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...

, where he championed the interests of the mill owners against their employees' unionization efforts. Clough is the namesake of

Culdrum Township, Morrison County, Minnesota Culdrum Township is a township in Morrison County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 505 at the 2000 census. History Culdrum Township was organized in 1871. The first settler in the area of the town was J.C. Stebbins who in 1859 loca ...

References

Biographical information
and hi
gubernatorial records
are available for research use at th
Minnesota Historical Society.Minnesota Legislators Past and Present
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clough, David 1846 births 1924 deaths People from Lyme, New Hampshire American manufacturing businesspeople Republican Party governors of Minnesota Lieutenant Governors of Minnesota Republican Party Minnesota state senators Businesspeople in timber