John Jeremiah Jacob (December 9, 1829November 24, 1893) was an American Democratic politician from Green Spring in ( Hampshire County), in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. Jacob served two terms as the fourth

governor of West Virginia A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

from 1871 to 1877. He was also elected to the

West Virginia House of Delegates The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature in West Virginia. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates. Organization Regular se ...

from Hampshire County in 1868 and from Ohio County in 1879.

Background

John Jeremiah Jacob was born in Green Spring, Virginia on the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

, north of Romney. Jacob's Hampshire County roots made him the first of West Virginia's governors to be born within the present-day borders of the state. He attended the

Romney Academy Romney Academy was an institution for higher education in Romney, Virginia (now West Virginia), United States. Romney Academy was first incorporated by the Virginia General Assembly on January 11, 1814, and was active until 1846 when it was reor ...

in Romney and

Dickinson College Dickinson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1773 as Carlisle Grammar School, Dickinson was chartered on September 9, 1783, ...

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

, Pennsylvania. Jacob practiced law and taught school in Hampshire County before accepting a teaching position at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

in 1853. In 1858, he married Jane Baird."West Virginia's First Ladies," West Virginia Division of Culture and History, June 2007. Jacob worked as an attorney in Missouri during the

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

and returned to Romney after the war in 1865 to establish a law practice. In 1868, he was elected to the

Governor (1871–1877)

Jacob was elected governor in

1870 Events January * January 1 ** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England. ** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed. * January 3 – Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge be ...

to a two-year term making him the first of six consecutive Democratic governors. He supported the elimination of all remaining legislation that discriminated against former Confederates. Jacob also presided over the establishment of new facilities to care for the mentally handicapped and the creation of statewide schools, known as normal schools, to train teachers. Most of these schools still exist as part of the state college system. GovernorJacob

During Jacob's tenure as governor, West Virginia's state constitution was re-written. Moderates and former Confederate supporters themselves believed the original 1863 constitution was too biased in favor of pro-Union supporters. A new constitutional convention, controlled by Democrats, met in Charleston in 1872. The new constitution restricted the power of the legislature and expanded the governor's term in office from two to four years, but prohibiting consecutive terms (effective with the 1876 election). In

1872 Events January * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. *January 20 – The Cavite mutiny was an uprising of Filipino military personnel of Fort S ...

,Í Jacob was denied re-nomination by the Democratic Party, which was controlled by industrialist Johnson N. Camden. Jacob ran on the ''ad hoc'' "People's Independent" ticket with Republican support. He was re-elected by 2,400 votes over Camden, whom the Democrats had nominated in Jacob's place, for a four-year term.Richard E. Fast, ''The history and government of West Virginia'' (1901) p. 181 Camden's men controlled the legislature, however, and passed "ripper" laws that stripped Jacob of his appointment powers. In 1875, the state government moved from Charleston and returned the capital to Wheeling in Ohio County. After Jacob left the governor's office, he remained in Wheeling and served once again in the West Virginia House of Delegates, this time from Ohio County, in 1879. He also served as the county's circuit judge from 1881 to 1888. Jacob continued to practice law in Wheeling until his death in 1893, aged 63.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacob, John Jeremiah 1829 births 1893 deaths Burials at Indian Mound Cemetery Dickinson College alumni Educators from West Virginia Governors of West Virginia Members of the West Virginia House of Delegates Missouri lawyers People from Hampshire County, West Virginia Politicians from Wheeling, West Virginia University of Missouri faculty West Virginia Democrats West Virginia lawyers West Virginia circuit court judges Democratic Party governors of West Virginia Independent state governors of the United States Republican Party governors of West Virginia West Virginia independents Lawyers from Wheeling, West Virginia 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century West Virginia state court judges 19th-century members of the West Virginia Legislature

Background

Governor (1871–1877)

See also

References

Further reading

External links