Louis Kossuth Church (December 11, 1846November 23, 1897) was an American politician who was a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Supreme Court justice, a member of the New York Legislature, and the ninth and penultimate

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...

, serving from 1887 to 1889.

Biography

Louis K. Church was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

on December 11, 1846. He was educated at the Hudson River Institute at Claverack,

. After studying law at the office of Judge N. B. Moore, Church was admitted to the bar. He practiced law with Judge Moore until eventually practicing by himself in 1874. Church was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

(Queens Co., 1st D.) in

1883 Events January–March * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * Ja ...

1884 Events January–March * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London. * January 18 – Dr. William Price atte ...

and

1885 Events January–March * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 4 – ...

.''The Argus Almanac: A Political and Financial Annual'', 1880, p. 100 Then, President Cleveland appointed Church as judge in the Third District of

, replacing

Seward Smith Seward Smith (born Granville, Massachusetts, August 1, 1830, died probably Iowa, December 10, 1887) was an Iowa Republican politician, lawyer, and associate justice of the Dakota Territory Supreme Court. He moved to Des Moines, Iowa in 1860 and ...

, whose mental health had come into question. Because of Church's good reputation as a judge, President Cleveland appointed Louis Church as Governor of Dakota Territory. A number of Democrats in Dakota Territory were disappointed in the appointment because they had expected the appointment of Dakota resident

Frank M. Ziebach Frank M. Ziebach (also known by his full name of Francis Marion Ziebach) was a political figure in the Dakota Territory during the territorial period from 1861 to 1889. He was a pioneer newspaperman, founding a number of newspapers in the Iowa an ...

. Church became governor on February 21, 1887. He scrutinized every bill and restrained excessive spending with his veto power. He allowed the reform school to be established at Plankinton. Church opposed the division of Dakota Territory into two separate states. Governor Church and former Governors,

Nehemiah G. Ordway Nehemiah George Ordway (November 10, 1828July 3, 1907) was an American politician who was a New Hampshire state senator and the seventh Governor of Dakota Territory. Ordway was regarded as one of Dakota Territory's most controversial governors. ...

and

John L. Pennington John L. Pennington (1829July 9, 1900) was an American politician and newspaper publisher. He was an Alabama state senator, and the fifth Governors of Dakota Territory, Governor of Dakota Territory. Biography Pennington was born at the town of New ...

, wanted Dakota to enter the Union as a single state. In spite of his integrity, Church became very unpopular as governor because of his opposition to separate statehood. When Benjamin Harrison defeated Cleveland as president, Church became a lame duck who was generally ignored by the territorial legislature. On March 4, 1889, Harrison was inaugurated as president, and Church resigned as governor on March 9, 1889. After leaving office, Louis Church returned to practicing law, first in

Huron Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...

and then 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 ...

. He died after developing pneumonia during a trip to

Juneau, Alaska The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the se ...

on November 23, 1897.

References

External links

Louis K. Church's biography
at th
Historical Society of North Dakota website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Church, Louis 1846 births 1898 deaths 19th-century American judges 19th-century American politicians Dakota Territory judges Deaths from pneumonia in Alaska Governors of Dakota Territory Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly People from Beadle County, South Dakota People from Brooklyn South Dakota Democrats