John H Gear, Iowa's eleventh Governor was born in Ithaca, New York, the son of Ezekiel Gilbert Gear, a clergyman of the Protestant Episcopal church, and Miranda (Cook) Gear. He attended common schools in Ithaca until age 12, when his family moved to…
Joshua G. Newbold, Iowa's tenth governor, was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania on May 12, 1830. He was the firstborn child of Barzillai and Catherine (Houseman) Newbold. In 1840 the Newbold family left Fayette County for Westmoreland County,…
Cyrus Clay Carpenter was born in Susquehanna County, Pa., Nov. 24, 1829. Orphaned at an early age, he learned the trade of a clothier, but after a few months went to help out on a farm and attended school in the winter. At the age of eighteen he…
Samuel Merrill, Iowa's seventh governor, was born on August 7, 1822 in Turner, Maine. He was the son of a New England farmer, Abel Merrill, and his wife, Abigail. After receiving a limited education in the local country schools, he taught briefly in…
William M. Stone, sixth Governor of Iowa, was born in Jefferson County, New York, but moved with his parents, Truman and Lavinia (North) Stone, to Coshocton County, Ohio, when he was six years old. Stone had little formal education. After working in…
Samuel J. Kirkwood, Governor of Iowa 1876-1877, was forn in Harford County, Maryland on December 20, 1813. He attended country schools and the academy of John McLeod in Washington, D.C. He clerked in a drug store and taught school. He moved to…
Ralph Phillips Lowe, fourth governor of Iowa, was born on November 27, 1805 in Warren County, Ohio, the fifth son of Jacob Derrick Lowe and Maria (Perlee) Lowe. As he grew up, he had to work hard on the family farm, which was also a stagecoach stop…
James W. Grimes, 3rd Iowa Governor was born October 20, 1816 in Deering, New Hampshire. He attended Dartmouth College, but left in 1835 without graduating. He went west and settled in Burlington, Iowa. Equipped with a critical mind, a retentive…
Stephen Hempstead, Iowa's second governor, was born in New London, Connecticut. on October 1, 1812, the eighth son of Joseph and Celinda (Hutchinson) Hempstead. When he was 13, his father, who was in the boot and shoe business, was for some months…
Ansel Briggs was the first Iowa Governor. He was born in Vermont on February 3, 1806. His education was attained in the common schools of Vermont and at the Norwich Academy in Connecticut. After moving to Ohio and then Iowa, Briggs established…
