Elias Milton Ammons (July 28, 1860 – May 20, 1925) served as the 19th

Governor of Colorado The governor of Colorado is the head of government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The governor is the head of the executive branch of Colorado's state government and is charged with enforcing state laws. The governor has the power to either app ...

from 1913 to 1915. Born in 1860 in

Macon County, North Carolina Macon County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,014. Its county seat is Franklin. The Nantahala River runs through Macon County, flowing into the Little Tennessee River in Sw ...

, he is perhaps best remembered for ordering

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

troops into

Ludlow, Colorado Ludlow is a ghost town in Las Animas County, Colorado, United States. It was the site of the Ludlow Massacre–part of the Colorado Coalfield War–in 1914. The town site is located at the entrance to a canyon in the foothills of the Sangre d ...

during the

Colorado Coalfield War The Colorado Coalfield War was a major labor uprising in the Southern and Central Colorado Front Range between September 1913 and December 1914. Striking began in late summer 1913, organized by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) agai ...

, which resulted in the Ludlow Massacre. He was also instrumental in starting the

National Western Stock Show The National Western Stock Show is an annual livestock show and festival held every January at the National Western Complex in Denver, Colorado since 1906. The show’s original purpose was advertised as showings to demonstrate better breeding ...

, which is still active. His son

Teller Ammons Teller Ammons (December 3, 1895 – January 16, 1972) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 28th Governor of Colorado from 1937 to 1939. He was the first Colorado governor to be born in the state. Early life On December 3, ...

was also governor of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

Early life

On July 28, 1860, Ammons was born in

. Ammons' parents were Jehu R. and Margaret Ammons. His father was a Baptist minister and his mother was descended from the Pennsylvania Dutch. In 1871, Ammons and his family moved to Denver, Colorado. In 1880, Ammons graduated from East Denver High School in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Colorado. Ammon's sister was Theodosia Grace Ammons, who later became a faculty at

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

, and president of the Colorado Equal Suffrage Association.

Career

In 1886, at age 26 Ammons started a cattle business in Colorado.

Legislative

On November 4, 1890, Ammons won the election unopposed and became a Republican member of

Colorado House of Representatives The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Colorado. The House is composed of 65 members from an equal number of constituent districts, with each distr ...

from Douglas County. Ammons began his term on January 7, 1891. On November 8, 1892, as an incumbent, Ammons won the election unopposed and continued serving as a Republican member of

, until January 2, 1895. Ammons served as speaker from 1894 to 1896. After becoming a Democrat, Ammons served in the

Colorado State Senate The Colorado Senate is the upper house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Colorado. It is composed of 35 members elected from single-member districts, with each district having a population of about 123, ...

from 1898 to 1902. Ammons publicly debated

Gifford Pinchot Gifford Pinchot (August 11, 1865October 4, 1946) was an American forester and politician. He served as the fourth chief of the U.S. Division of Forestry, as the first head of the United States Forest Service, and as the 28th governor of Pennsy ...

, chief of the United States Department of Agriculture's Division of Forestry and head of the federal government's conservation movement, three times between 1901 and 1909.

Governorship

On November 5, 1912, Ammons won the election and became a Democratic

. Ammons defeated Edward P. Costigan, Clifford C. Parks, Charles A. Ashelstrom, John Henry Ketchum, and Jonathan U. Billings with 42.91% of the votes. On January 14, 1913 Ammons served as Governor of Colorado, until January 12, 1915. Ammons was elected on an anti-conservation platform and was against federal control of Colorado lands. He believed strongly in the sovereignty of the states and worried that the federal government was encroaching on the political independence of Colorado. Further, he was concerned that federal land reservation would stunt Colorado's economic growth. While governor, Ammons was accused of favoring the mine owners and companies, particularly

John D. Rockefeller, Jr. John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in ...

's Colorado Fuel & Iron, during the 1913 to 1914 strike and civil unrest known as the

. Ammons left office on January 12, 1915, and retired from public service.

Personal life

On January 29, 1889, Ammons married Elizabeth Fleming in

, Colorado. They had five children, including Bruce, Elizabeth, Teller. Ammons had contracted a severe case of the measles that permanently impaired his eyesight. Ammons' son Bruce Ammons became a rancher in Grand county, Colorado. He also secretly married Margaret Gates.() Ammons' daughter Elizabeth Ammons, became an accomplished equestrienne. She married

Henry Louis Larsen Lieutenant General Henry Louis Larsen (December 10, 1890 – October 2, 1962) was a United States Marine Corps officer, the second Military Governor of Guam following its recapture from the Empire of Japan, and the first post-World War II Gover ...

and later became the

First Lady of American Samoa The First Lady of American Samoa is the title attributed to the wife of the governor of American Samoa. To date, there have been no first gentlemen of American Samoa. The current first lady is Ella Mauga, wife of Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga, who ...

and

First Lady of Guam First Lady or First Gentleman of Guam is the title attributed to the spouse of the governor of Guam. The current first gentleman is Jeffrey Cook, husband of Governor Lou Leon Guerrero Lourdes Aflague "Lou" Leon Guerrero (born November 8, 1950) ...

. Ammons' son

became a

. On May 20, 1925, Ammons died in

. Ammons is interred at Fairmont Cemetery in

, Colorado.

References

External links

Governor Elias M. Ammons Collection at the Colorado State Archives
*
Elias Milton Ammons at ballotpedia.org

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ammons, Elias M. 1860 births 1925 deaths Colorado Democrats Colorado Republicans Colorado state senators Governors of Colorado Democratic Party governors of Colorado Members of the Colorado House of Representatives People from Macon County, North Carolina Speakers of the Colorado House of Representatives Burials at Fairmount Cemetery (Denver, Colorado)