Walter Welford (May 21, 1868 – June 28, 1952) was inaugurated as the 20th Governor of North Dakota on February 2, 1935 after Thomas H. Moodie was removed from office after it was determined he was ineligible to hold the office. He served until 1937, having lost the 1936 race to former governor

William Langer William "Wild Bill" Langer (September 30, 1886November 8, 1959) was a prominent American lawyer and politician from North Dakota, where he was an infamous character, bouncing back from a scandal that forced him out of the governor's office and ...

Biography

Born in the

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

village of

Bellerby Bellerby is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England, about south-west of Richmond. The village has one pub, the ''Cross Keys'', a small and historic Anglican church and a Methodist chapel. It is fr ...

on 21 May 1868, Welford moved with his family to Pembina, North Dakota, in 1879. A farmer, he also served as Vice President of the Merchants Bank of Pembina County. He was married to Edith Bachmann and they had one child who died in infancy.

Career

Welford served as township clerk at Pembina for twenty years. He also served in the

North Dakota House of Representatives The North Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly and is larger than the North Dakota Senate. North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative districts apportioned by population as d ...

(1907 to 1911) and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

(1917 to 1921). As

Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota The lieutenant governor of North Dakota is a political office in North Dakota. The lieutenant governor's duty is to preside as President of the Senate, and is responsible for legislative relations, the state budget and agribusiness development. In ...

, Welford became governor after Thomas H. Moodie was disqualified. Welford was a staunch supporter of the Nonpartisan League (NPL), a farmers' political group. During Welford's administration the state was caught in the grip of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. The 1936 crop yield was disastrously low because of drought. Welford met with President

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

and obtained federal aid for drought-stricken farmers. In 1936, Welford decided to run for office again. He beat former Governor

for the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

gubernatorial nomination, but Langer refused to drop out, and entered the general election as an independent. Welford lost the three-way governor's election to Langer. (The third-place candidate was Democrat

John Moses John Moses may refer to: * John Moses (Norwegian politician) (1781–1849), member of the Norwegian Constituent Assembly * John Moses (Illinois politician) (1825–1898), Illinois judge and politician * John Moses (American politician) (1885–1945) ...

, who became North Dakota's twenty-second governor, following Langer's second term.)

Death

Welford died on June 28, 1952 at the age of 84 en route to a hospital in Altona,

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

after being stricken at his home in Pembina County."Walter Welford, Former N. D. Governor Dies", ''The Bismarck Tribune'', Monday, June 30, 1952, Bismarck, North Dakota, United States Of America He is buried in Cavalier Cemetery, Cavalier, Pembina County, North Dakota US.

References

External links

*
National Governors Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welford, Walter Lieutenant Governors of North Dakota Republican Party governors of North Dakota 1868 births 1952 deaths Republican Party members of the North Dakota House of Representatives Republican Party North Dakota state senators Nonpartisan League state governors of the United States 20th-century American politicians

Biography

Career

Death

See also

References

External links