Seth Padelford (October 3, 1807 – August 26, 1878) was the 31st

Governor of Rhode Island The governor of Rhode Island is the head of government of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and serves as commander-in-chief of the state's Army National Guard and Air National Guard. The current governor is Democrat Dan McKee. In their capac ...

from 1869 to 1873.

Biography

Padelford was born in

Taunton, Massachusetts Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount Hope Bay, to the south. At the 2020 cen ...

. He worked as a grocer, as well as serving on the City Council of

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

, the Providence School Committee and in the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is composed of 75 members, elected ...

. Padelford was a Unitarian and an ardent

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

with ties to the

New England Emigrant Aid Company The New England Emigrant Aid Company (originally the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company) was a transportation company founded in Boston, Massachusetts by activist Eli Thayer in the wake of the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which allowed the population of ...

, which armed and organized settlers who took part in the "

Bleeding Kansas Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas, or the Border War was a series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas Territory, and to a lesser extent in western Missouri, between 1854 and 1859. It emerged from a political and ideological debate over the ...

" conflict. In 1860, he was nominated as the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

candidate for Governor of Rhode Island. Anti-war Republicans and textile interests joined Democrats to back the young William Sprague IV, the nephew of former Rhode Island Governor and Senator

William Sprague III William Sprague, also known as William III or William Sprague III (November 3, 1799October 19, 1856), was a politician and industrialist from the U.S. state of Rhode Island, serving as the 14th Governor, a U.S. Representative and a U.S. Senator. ...

. Sprague, running as a "Conservative" against Padelford's "Radical" candidacy, won the election by a margin of 12,278 to 10,740 votes, with twice the customary turnout at the polls. After the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

began in 1861, Padelford won two consecutive elections for Lieutenant Governor, serving from 1863 to 1865. He was elected Governor in 1869, serving four terms before stepping down. Padelford died in 1878 in Providence, and is buried in

Swan Point Cemetery Swan Point Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Established in 1846 on a 60-acre (0.24 km2) plot of land, it has approximately 40,000 interments. History The cemetery was first organ ...

Family

John Peirce John Peirce (August 16, 1836 – March 3, 1897) was an American professor of chemistry, a scientist and an inventor. He participated in the development of the telephone. Biography Peirce was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on August 16, 18 ...

, step-son - participated in the development of the telephone.

References

External links

Biography at the National Governor's Association
* 1807 births 1878 deaths School board members in Rhode Island Republican Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Republican Party governors of Rhode Island American abolitionists Politicians from Taunton, Massachusetts American Unitarians Burials at Swan Point Cemetery Providence City Council members 19th-century American politicians {{RhodeIsland-politician-stub