George Lewis Yaple (February 20, 1851 – December 16, 1939) was a politician and jurist from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. Yaple was born in Leonidas, Michigan, and moved with his parents to

Mendon, Michigan Mendon is a village in St. Joseph County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 870 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Mendon Township. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total ...

, in 1857. He attended the common schools and

Albion College Albion College is a private liberal arts college in Albion, Michigan. The college was founded in 1835 and its undergraduate population was approximately 1,500 students in 2014. They participate in NCAA Division III and the Michigan Intercolle ...

, and graduated from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

in 1871. He completed a postgraduate course in 1874, studied law with a local attorney, and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1872. He farmed until 1877, then commenced the practice of law in Mendon. He was an unsuccessful candidate of the

Greenback Party The Greenback Party (known successively as the Independent Party, the National Independent Party and the Greenback Labor Party) was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology which was active between 1874 and 1889. The party ran ...

for election in 1880 to the

Forty-seventh Congress The 47th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. ) , image_sk ...

. In 1882, running as a

Fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...

candidate, Yaple defeated incumbent

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 ...

Julius C. Burrows Julius Caesar Burrows (January 9, 1837November 16, 1915) was a U.S. Representative and a U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan. Early life and education Burrows was born in North East, Pennsylvania and moved then with his parents to Ashtabu ...

to represent

Michigan's 4th congressional district Michigan's 4th congressional district is a United States congressional district that from 2003 to 2013 included portions of Northern and Central Michigan, consisting of all of Clare, Clinton, Gladwin, Gratiot, Isabella, Mecosta, Midland, ...

in the Forty-eighth Congress, serving from March 4, 1883, until March 3, 1885. Although elected as a Fusion candidate, he sat with the Democrats in Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1884 to the Forty-ninth Congress. In 1886, he ran as a

candidate for election 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 ...

, losing in the general election to

Cyrus G. Luce Cyrus Gray Luce (July 2, 1824 – March 18, 1905) was an American politician in the U.S. state of Michigan. He served as the 21st governor of Michigan. Early life in Ohio and Indiana Luce was born in Windsor, Ashtabula County, Ohio to his ...

. He was a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

in 1888 and twice ran again for Congress, losing to

in 1890, and to

Henry F. Thomas Henry Franklin Thomas (December 17, 1843 – April 16, 1912) was an American physician and politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. He served two terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1893 to 1897 Early life and education T ...

in 1892. Yaple was elected circuit judge of the fifteenth circuit of Michigan, serving from 1894 until 1911. In 1916, he became a member of the Republican Party. After retiring, he resided until his death in Mendon. He was buried at Mendon Cemetery in Mendon.

External links

Political Graveyard
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yaple, George Lewis 1851 births 1939 deaths Michigan state court judges Albion College alumni Michigan Greenbacks Michigan Republicans Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan People from St. Joseph County, Michigan People from Mendon, Michigan