John Judson Bagley (July 24, 1832 – July 27, 1881) was a politician from the US state of
Michigan, as well as the 16th
governor of Michigan
The governor of Michigan is the head of state, head of government, and chief executive of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the stat ...
.
Early life in New York and Michigan
Bagley was born in
Medina, New York to John and Mary M. (Smith) Bagley. Bagley was initially raised in
Lockport, New York. However, at the age of eight, he moved with his family to
Constantine, Michigan. At age thirteen, he moved, this time to the opposite side of the state – to
Owosso, Michigan
Owosso is the largest city in Shiawassee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 15,194 at the 2010 census. The city is mostly surrounded by Owosso Township on its west, but the two are administered autonomously. The city wa ...
.
Bagley moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1847 as an apprentice and starting his working career in a small chewing tobacco shop of Isaac Miller. Bagley bought out Miller after seven years and renamed his store the Mayflower Tobacco Company, turning it into an industry leader that competed against other Detroit tobacco brands–at the time, tobacco was a major industry in Detroit.
Bagley was a
freemason
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
. He was member in Charity Lodge No. 94 in
Detroit,
Michigan.
Politics in Michigan
In 1855, he won election to the Detroit Board of Education, a position he held three years, by which time he had helped found the
Republican Party
Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party.
Republican Party may also refer to:
Africa
*Republican Party (Liberia)
* Republican Part ...
. He also served as an
alderman in Detroit. On January 16, 1855, he married in
Dubuque, Iowa to Frances E. Newbury, daughter of Rev. Samuel Newbury, a pioneer missionary of Michigan. They had seven children together.
Bagley also served on the Detroit Common Council from 1860 to 1861, and was a member of the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners from 1865 to 1872. Bagley helped to organize the Michigan Mutual Life Insurance Company and served as its president from 1867–1872. During that time, he was also chairman of the
Michigan Republican Party from 1868–1870.
Bagley served as
Governor of Michigan
The governor of Michigan is the head of state, head of government, and chief executive of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the stat ...
between 1873 and 1877. He encouraged the establishment of a state commission to regulate railroads, dealt with the matter of juvenile delinquency, and led the effort to establish the state Board of Health and the state Fish Commission. Bagley, a
Unitarian, was an enthusiastic supporter of prohibition and passed the liquor-tax law.
Retirement and death
Bagley died in San Francisco from tuberculosis, three days after his 49th birthday. He was interred in
Woodmere Cemetery
Woodmere Cemetery is at West Fort Street and Woodmere Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, in the neighborhood of Springwells Village in what was originally the township of Springwells. Woodmere Cemetery is operated by the Midwest Memorial Group.
Histo ...
of Detroit, Michigan.
In 2019, his once believed to be lost statue was discovered in storage at the
Detroit Institute of Arts.
References
National Governor's Association
*https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/arts/2019/10/16/michigan-governor-john-bagley-bust-lost-found-dia/3988409002/
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagley, John J.
1832 births
Republican Party governors of Michigan
American Unitarians
1881 deaths
Burials in Michigan
People from Medina, New York
19th-century American politicians
Politicians from Lockport, New York
People from Constantine, Michigan
People from Owosso, Michigan