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John W

John W. Dawson (21 October 1820-10 September 1877) was the Republican Governor of Utah from 3 October to 31 December 1861, succeeding Alfred Cumming and preceding Stephen S. Harding.

Biography[]

John W. Dawson was born in Cambridge, Indiana in 1820, and he practiced law, farmed, and worked as editor of the Fort Wayne Times before becoming active in politics as an anti-abolition, pro-temperance, and pro-public schools Democrat. He became a Republican after several failed bids for state offices, and he served as Governor of the Utah Territory for three weeks in 1861 before departing due to tensions with Mormon residents; his indecent proposals towards a widowed Mormon woman resulted in him being thrashed with a fire shovel. He was severely beaten and robbed by Mormon vigilantes as he left the territory, and he went on to write Johnny Appleseed's biography in 1871 and died in Fort Wayne in 1877.

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