John Scott Horner (December 5, 1802 – February 3, 1883) was a U.S. politician, Secretary and
acting Governor
An acting governor is a person who acts in the role of governor. In Commonwealth jurisdictions where the governor is a vice-regal position, the role of "acting governor" may be filled by a lieutenant governor (as in most Australian states) or an ...
of
Michigan Territory, 1835–1836 and
Secretary of Wisconsin Territory, 1836–1837.
Early life
Horner was born in what is now
Warrenton, Virginia
Warrenton is a town in Fauquier County, Virginia, of which it is the seat of government. The population was 9,611 at the 2010 census, up from 6,670 at the 2000 census. The estimated population in 2019 was 10,027. It is at the junction of U.S. R ...
, the third of eight children of Gustavus Brown Horner and Frances Harrison Scott Horner. He attended a private boarding school near
Middleburg, Virginia
Middleburg is a town in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 673 as of the 2010 census. It is the southernmost town along Loudoun County's shared border with Fauquier County.
Middleburg is known as the "Nation's Horse ...
run by a
Scottish Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
clergyman. He attended Washington College (now known as
Washington and Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries to ...
) in
Washington County, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1819. He then studied law, was admitted to the bar in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and maintained a successful private practice in
Fauquier,
Loudoun
Loudoun ( gd, Lughdan) is a parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland and lies between five and ten miles east of Kilmarnock. The parish roughly encompasses the northern half of the Upper-Irvine Valley and borders Galston Parish (which encompasses the ...
, and
Rappahannock counties. In October, 1834, Horner married Harriet L. Watson, the daughter of
James Watson,
U.S. Senator from New York.
Political career
On August 15, 1835, President
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
appointed Horner to be Secretary (and acting Governor) of the
Michigan Territory, replacing the popular
Stevens T. Mason. The circumspect Horner knew he was entering office in a volatile situation.
Michigan had satisfied all the requirements set out in the
Northwest Ordinance to become a state, however the
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...
had repeatedly rejected or ignored Michigan's petition for statehood. The rejection was related to two very contentious issues:
# There was an acrimonious border dispute with the state of
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, which became known as the
Toledo War
The Toledo War (1835–36), also known as the Michigan–Ohio War or the Ohio–Michigan War, was an almost bloodless boundary dispute between the U.S. state of Ohio and the adjoining territory of Michigan over what is now known as the Toledo ...
.
# Southern
slave state
In the United States before 1865, a slave state was a state in which slavery and the internal or domestic slave trade were legal, while a free state was one in which they were not. Between 1812 and 1850, it was considered by the slave states ...
s were reluctant to increase the number of northern
free states.
Jackson, facing reelection in 1836, did not want to alienate Ohio, with its many electoral votes. So he removed the popular Mason from office. Mason was agitating for statehood and was, at that time, unyielding in demands regarding the
Toledo Strip
The Toledo War (1835–36), also known as the Michigan–Ohio War or the Ohio–Michigan War, was an almost bloodless boundary dispute between the U.S. state of Ohio and the adjoining territory of Michigan over what is now known as the Toledo S ...
. At Mason's urging, Michigan had drafted a constitution on its own without the sanction of an
Enabling Act
An enabling act is a piece of legislation by which a legislative body grants an entity which depends on it (for authorization or legitimacy) the power to take certain actions. For example, enabling acts often establish government agencies to carr ...
from Congress. The people adopted the constitution in October 1835 and at the same time elected Mason as governor along with a full slate of state officials (the state government was not recognized by Congress until 1837, when Michigan became a state).
So Horner had to appease irate Ohioans as well as deal with an unauthorized, but popular local government that undermined his own authority as Territorial Governor. Horner was at least partially successful, in that he helped to avert violence (aside from some minor scuffles) and persuaded both parties to wait for the upcoming session of Congress to propose a resolution. Despite heading alternate governments, there was little disagreement between Mason and Horner, with Horner mostly staying out of the way in local politics.
In August 1835, while Michigan prepared itself for statehood, Mason had separated all of the territory which was not going to be part of the state into a separate jurisdiction in order to provide some continuity in governance. Horner had replaced Mason as Territorial Secretary in the interim and was to assume responsibility for the western territory. But he was delayed for various reasons and the western area had its own government for a time without any official representative of the federal government. Congress organized the Wisconsin Territory on July 3, 1836, and Horner assumed the office of Secretary, leaving the ''de facto'', if unrecognized, government of the state of Michigan to Mason.
As Secretary of the Wisconsin Territory, Horner's first acts were to administer the oaths of office to Governor
Henry Dodge
Moses Henry Dodge (October 12, 1782 – June 19, 1867) was a Democratic member to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, Territorial Governor of Wisconsin and a veteran of the Black Hawk War. His son, Augustus C. Dodge, served a ...
and the judges of the supreme court with
Charles Dunn as chief justice, and
William C. Frazer and
David Irvin as associate justices.
In June 1837, Jackson transferred Horner to the become Register of the
Green Bay Land Office. Horner resisted requests by friends and relatives to move back east to Virginia, and in 1847, Horner moved to a farm on the south shore of Green Lake in present-day
Green Lake County. In 1849, he was elected probate judge for
Marquette County (which then included Green Lake County). He held this office until the court was abolished in 1854.
Later life
Horner was one of the original settlers of the present day city of
Ripon, Wisconsin. In 1851, Horner also helped establish
Ripon College. His former home, now known as the
John Scott Horner House, is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
.
Death
Horner died in
Ripon
Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...
in
Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin
Fond du Lac County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 104,154. Its county seat is Fond du Lac. The county was created in the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 and later organized in 1844. Fond du La ...
, at the age of eighty. He is
interred
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
at Hillside Cemetery, Ripon, Wisconsin.
Family life
He married Harriet L. Watson (1805–1883) in October 1834, who died two months after him in Ripon.
[ ]
References
External links
John Scott Horner: A Biographical Sketch
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horner, John S.
1802 births
1883 deaths
People from Warrenton, Virginia
People from Ripon, Wisconsin
Politicians from Green Bay, Wisconsin
Governors of Michigan Territory
Washington & Jefferson College alumni
Secretaries of State of Wisconsin
Wisconsin state court judges
Ripon College (Wisconsin)
Burials in Wisconsin
19th-century American judges