Chase Salmon Osborn (January 22, 1860 – April 11, 1949) was an American politician, newspaper reporter and publisher, and explorer. He served as the 27th

governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of government of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the state's 49th governor. She was re-ele ...

from 1911 to 1913. The governor spent time at Possum Poke in Georgia, using it as a retreat and a place to write. He died there on April 11, 1949, aged 89.

Early life in Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin

Osborn was born in a log house in

Huntington County, Indiana Huntington County is a County (United States), county in the northeastern central part of the U.S. state of Indiana. According to the 2020 United States census, the population was 36,662. The county seat (and only city) is Huntington, Indiana, ...

to George A. Osborn and Margaret (Fannon) Osborn, who named him Chase Salmon after abolitionist Salmon Chase, who became the next U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

, and later Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He was educated at

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

, where he became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, yet left before graduating. From there he moved to Chicago, Illinois, and briefly worked for the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

''. On May 7, 1881, while a reporter for the Evening Wisconsin in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, he married Lillian G. Jones. They moved north, near the Michigan border, to Florence, Wisconsin, where he ran a local newspaper and prospected for iron.

Life and politics in Michigan

Osborn later moved to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan where he ran another newspaper, '' The Sault News'', and also began his involvement in politics. In 1889, he was appointed Postmaster of Sault Ste. Marie and, in 1895, state Fish and Game Warden. In 1898, Governor Hazen S. Pingree appointed Osborn Commissioner of Railroads, a position in which he served from 1899 to 1903. After selling out his newspaper, he and Walter J. Hunsaker bought The Saginaw Courier Herald. In 1900, he was unsuccessful to win the Republican Party (United States), Republican nomination for Governor of Michigan, losing to Aaron T. Bliss, who won the general election. In 1908, he served as a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

from Michigan to nominate

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

for U.S. president. That same year he became a member of the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual co ...

and served from 1908 to 1911. In 1910, Osborn was elected the 27th Governor of Michigan and served from 1911 to 1913. His tenure as governor was focused on reforms as the state deficit was eliminated; a workmen's compensation bill was sanctioned; and a presidential primary law was authorized. In 1912, Osborn campaigned for

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

for president to unseat the current President Taft. After Roosevelt lost the Republican nomination and bolted from the party to start the Progressive Party, Osborn still campaigned for him in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, and

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, yet not in Michigan. Osborn did not run for a second term and is to date the only governor of Michigan from the Upper Peninsula. After his term as governor, Osborn traveled the world and came back for another attempt to become governor again and unseat his successor, Democrat Woodbridge N. Ferris, but was unsuccessful. In 1918 he was a

candidate A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group (sociology), group or election to an offic ...

in the primary for United States Senator from Michigan, being defeated by fellow Republican Truman H. Newberry. He supported

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

, and urged participation in world affairs during the 1920s and 1930s despite the consensus of

isolationism Isolationism is a term used to refer to a political philosophy advocating a foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality an ...

during those years. Osborn met Stellanova Brunt in 1924, and she took a job as his researcher and secretary. In 1928, he was a candidate for the Republican nomination for U.S. vice president, yet was defeated by Charles Curtis, who later won with

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

as president. In 1930, he was again a candidate in the primary for the U.S. Senate, being defeated by fellow Republican James Couzens. In 1931, Chase and Lillian Osborn legally adopted 37-year-old Stellanova, and she changed her last name to Osborn. In 1934, he was elected chairman of the Michigan Republican Party. In 1936, he was a candidate for Presidential Elector to elect Alfred Landon, who lost to

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

. In 1939, he met with Roosevelt to lobby for construction of the Mackinac Bridge, a project that was completed in 1957 after the deaths of both Osborn and Roosevelt.

Retirement, death, and legacy

After politics, Osborn returned to the newspaper business and became active in the pursuit of iron ore prospecting. He was a member of the Audubon Society, National Rifle Association of America, Sons of the American Revolution, Freemasons, Elks,

Kiwanis Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. In 1987, the organization ...

, Knights of Pythias,

Lions Club Lions Clubs International, is an international service organization, currently headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. , it had over 46,000 local clubs and more than 1.4 million members (including the youth wing Leo clubs, Leo) in more than 200 ge ...

Odd Fellows Odd Fellows (or Oddfellows when referencing the Grand United Order of Oddfellows or some British-based fraternities; also Odd Fellowship or Oddfellowship) is an international fraternity consisting of lodges first documented in 1730 in 18th-cen ...

, Sigma Chi, and Sigma Delta Chi. He was also the author of several books. Osborn used a wheelchair, and Stellanova became his full-time nurse. After his wife Lillian died, Stellanova's adoption was annulled. On April 9, 1949, at Osborn's Georgia residence, he at 89 and Stellanova at 54 were married. He died two weeks later at Possum Poke, his residence in

Poulan, Georgia Poulan is a city in Worth County, Georgia, United States. The population was 780 in 2020. Poulan is part of the Albany, Georgia metropolitan area. Poulan is notable for its police department's speed trap tactics from 2006 to 2012. In 2009, Pou ...

. He is interred at Duck Island, his Michigan residence on Sugar Island, near Sault Ste. Marie in the St. Marys River. Osborn's book ''The Iron Hunter'' (1919; republished 2002) is autobiographical. The title refers to work he did prospecting for iron ore in Wisconsin and the Michigan Upper Peninsula and reflects his love of the outdoors. He wrote several other books and co-wrote some with his adopted daughter, Stellanova, who also wrote several books herself. A portrait of Governor Osborn can be found in the collections of the Michigan State Capitol. Painted in 1931 by Robert Grafton, the painting is a naturalistic, half-length depiction of the man. The portrait is not currently on display, but more information can be found on the Capitol's website.https://mscac.emuseum.com/objects/46/governor-osborn?ctx=66b40aaac50c50ee50974c44ffd3068ed28eef68&idx=0 There is also an undated oil painting on canvas of Governor Osborn on display at the Bay Mills Community College Library and Heritage Center in Brimley, MI. The riverfront walk in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan features a historical monument and bust of Osborn. The Student Union at the Ann Arbor campus of the

also holds a bust of Osborn on the first floor. The female

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

dormitory at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie is named in honor of him.

Sources

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20061110032118/http://michiganhistorymagazine.com/extra/soo/Osborn.pdf Shaul, Richard D. 2004. "To a Different Drum." ''Michigan History'', September/October 2004br>U.S.S. Chase S. Osborn"Osborn, Chase Salmon," ''Men of progress: embracing biographical sketches of representative Michigan men; with an outline history of the state ...'' (The Evening News Association, Detroit, 1900), p. 131National Governors AssociationA Michigan Love Story by Stan J. Wooded

External links

*
Honoring Governor Osborn / PreserveGovernor Chase S. Osborn Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osborn, Chase 1860 births 1949 deaths People from Huntington County, Indiana American Presbyterians Republican Party governors of Michigan People from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Politicians from Milwaukee Regents of the University of Michigan Members of the Sons of the American Revolution Writers from Indiana Writers from Michigan Writers from Milwaukee People from Florence, Wisconsin Michigan State Historic Sites in Chippewa County 20th-century Michigan politicians

Early life in Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin

Life and politics in Michigan

Retirement, death, and legacy

See also

Sources

Further reading

External links