Buren B. Sherman, 11th governor of Iowa, was born in Phelps, New York, the third son of Phineas L. Sherman, ax maker, and Eveline (Robinson) Sherman. He went to school in Phelps until 1849, when the family moved to Elmira, New York. There he…
Warren Garst, Iowa's nineteenth governor, was born in Dayton, Ohio on December 4, 1850 to Dr. Michael Garst and Marie Louise Morrison. At age 8, he and his family moved to Illinois. At age 19 He moved to Iowa, and settled in Coon Rapids, where he and…
George Allison Wilson, 28th governor of Iowa, and U.S. senator, was born on a farm near Menlo, Adair County, Iowa, to James Henderson Wilson and Martha Green (Varley) Wilson. He attended nearby rural schools, Grinnell College (1900-1903), and the…
Francis M. Drake, Iowa's sixteenth governor, was born in Rushville, Illinois on December 30, 1830 to John Adams Drake and Harriet Jane O'Neal. In 1837, his family moved to Fort Madison, Iowa, where Drake was educated in the common schools. He became…
Horace Boies, Iowa's fourteenth governor, was born in Aurora, New York on December 7, 1827. His early education was limited and attained in New York's public school system. However, four years after working as a farm laborer, Boies decided to further…
Leo Elthon was Governor of Iowa from November 21, 1954 to January 13, 1955. Elthon had been elected Lieutenant Governor in 1953, and filled the unexpired term of Governor William S. Beardsley, who died in office. Elthon attended the Augsburg…
Leslie M. Shaw, 17th governor of Iowa, was born on a farm in Vermont, the first son of Boardman Osias Shaw and Lavisa (Spaulding) Shaw. He helped his father on the farm and attended school with two goals: to get a higher education and move west to…
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…
Chet Culver was born in 1966 in Washington, D.C. He received a B.A. degree in Political Science at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universty in 1988. He received an M.A. degree in teaching and education at Drake University in 1994.He is…
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…
