Horace Boies (December 7, 1827 – April 4, 1923) served as the 14th Governor of Iowa from 1890 to 1894 as a member of the

United States Democratic Party The Democratic Party is one of the Two-party system, two Major party, major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled a wide cadre of politicians in eve ...

. Boies was the only

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to serve in that position from 1855 to 1933, a period of 78 years. Boies family of Iowa
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Life before Iowa

Horace was born in Aurora, New York and started his education in the public school system. In his late teens, he worked for four years as a farm laborer in the

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was ...

. Moving back to New York, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1849, setting up practice in

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, near Buffalo. He was elected to the

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(Erie Co., 3rd D.) as a Republican in

1857 Events January–March * January 1 – The biggest Estonian newspaper, ''Postimees'', is established by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. * January 7 – The partly French-owned London General Omnibus Company begins operating. * Janua ...

Life in Iowa

Horace moved to

Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 67,314, making it the eighth-largest city in the state. The city is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls ...

in 1867 and opened a law office. His career was successful, and he purchased large amounts of farmland in the area. Boies left the Republican Party in 1880 due to their support of

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

. He was elected governor of Iowa as a Democrat in 1889, breaking longtime Republican dominance of state politics. Reelected in 1891, he was defeated in 1893, by

Frank D. Jackson Frank Darr Jackson (January 26, 1854 – November 16, 1938) was an American politician who served as the List of Governors of Iowa, 15th governor of Iowa, serving one term from 1894 to 1896. Biography Jackson attended Iowa Agricultural Colleg ...

, a Republican. He was a prominent

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

and advocate of

bimetallism Bimetallism, also known as the bimetallic standard, is a monetary standard in which the value of the monetary unit is defined as equivalent to certain quantities of two metals, typically gold and silver, creating a fixed rate of exchange betwee ...

, and during his term as governor proclaimed Iowa's first

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...

holiday. As governor, Boies gained sufficient prominence to become involved in national Democratic Party politics, though his campaigns for the presidential nomination at the

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies for ...

and

1896 Democratic National Convention The 1896 Democratic National Convention, held at the Chicago Coliseum from July 7 to July 11, was the scene of William Jennings Bryan's nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate for the 1896 U.S. presidential election. At age 36, B ...

s were unsuccessful. His last political campaign, in 1902, was an unsuccessful attempt at the Democratic nomination for a Congressional seat from Iowa. Following his retirement, Boies moved to

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. This was a popular destination for Iowans at the time, and Boies was active in social events of his fellow Iowan transplants, participating in the Long Beach Iowa Reunion and serving as president of the Long Beach Iowa Association.

References

External links

HONORED BY IOWA DEMOCRATS
article printed September 5, 1893 in the

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Politicians from Waterloo, Iowa People from Erie County, New York Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Democratic Party governors of Iowa 1827 births 1923 deaths Iowa lawyers New York (state) lawyers Candidates in the 1892 United States presidential election 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians {{NewYork-NYAssembly-stub