George Tobey Anthony (June 9, 1824 – August 5, 1896) was seventh Governor of Kansas, and was a second cousin of suffragette

Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to s ...

Biography

Anthony was born to

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

s on a farm outside the town of

Mayfield, New York Mayfield is a town in Fulton County, New York, United States, northeast of Gloversville and Johnstown. The town contains a village also named Mayfield. The population of the town was 6,495 at the 2010 census. History The land that is now th ...

. His father died when he was five, and Anthony had to work to support himself, his mother, and his siblings. Anthony ran a hardware store, was married to Rosa Lyon. and served as a county loan commissioner before serving in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

as a captain (brevetted major) of the 17th New York Independent Battery. Anthony organized the Seventeenth Independent Battery of Light Artillery; and was commissioned captain when it was mustered into the U. S. Army on August 26, 1862. Attached to the 18th Corps, he was with the 24th Corps in the Appomattox Campaign which ended when General Robert E. Lee surrendered. Anthony was brevetted a Major by the time he was discharged in June 1865. He moved to

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 37,351. It is located on the west bank of t ...

, where he became the editor of several newspapers. He then held a few positions in internal revenue and was placed on the state board of agriculture. Anthony was elected governor of

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

in 1876. As governor, Anthony was known for penny-pinching, and favored programs that did not cost the state much money. During Anthony's term, he was the first Kansas governor to read his message to the state legislature, the state's first telephone was installed, the town of

Anthony, Kansas Anthony is a city in and the county seat of Harper County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,108. History The Anthony townsite was laid out in 1878. The city was named after the 7th governor of Kan ...

was named for him, and the Last Indian Raid in the state occurred near

Fort Dodge Fort Dodge is a city in, and the county seat of, Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 24,871 in the 2020 census, a decrease from 25,136 in 2000. Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Cen ...

. He was not re-elected in 1879. In retirement the former governor farmed and invested. Anthony suffered from diabetes and died from pneumonia in 1896. He became one of four governors buried in Topeka Cemetery and is interred not far from his predecessor Thomas A. Osborn.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anthony, George T. 1824 births 1896 deaths Republican Party governors of Kansas People from Fulton County, New York American Quakers 19th-century American politicians People buried in Topeka Cemetery