John Judson Bagley (July 24, 1832 – July 27, 1881) was a politician from the US state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, as well as the 16th

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 ...

Early life in New York and Michigan

Bagley was born in

Medina, New York Medina is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Towns of Shelby, New York, Shelby and Ridgeway, New York, Ridgeway in Orleans County, New York, Orleans County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is located app ...

to John and Mary M. (Smith) Bagley. Bagley was initially raised in

Lockport, New York Lockport is both a city and the town that surrounds it in Niagara County, New York, United States. The city is the Niagara county seat, with a population of 21,165 according to 2010 census figures, and an estimated population of 20,305 as of 20 ...

. However, at the age of eight, he moved with his family to

Constantine, Michigan Constantine is a village in St. Joseph County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,076 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Constantine Township. U.S. Highway 131 (Main Street in the village) leads to Kalamazoo to ...

. At age thirteen, he moved, this time to the opposite side of the state – to

Owosso, Michigan Owosso () is the largest city in Shiawassee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 14,714 at the 2020 census. It is located west of Flint, and northeast of Lansing. The city is mostly surrounded by Owosso Township on its we ...

. Bagley moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1847 as an apprentice and starting his working career in a small chewing tobacco shop of Isaac Miller. Bagley bought out Miller after seven years and renamed his store the Mayflower Tobacco Company, turning it into an industry leader that competed against other Detroit tobacco brands–at the time, tobacco was a major industry in Detroit. Bagley was a

freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. He was member in Charity Lodge No. 94 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Politics in Michigan

In 1855, he won election to the Detroit Board of Education, a position he held three years, by which time he had helped found the Republican Party. He also served as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

in Detroit. On January 16, 1855, he married in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

to Frances E. Newbury, daughter of Rev. Samuel Newbury, a pioneer missionary of Michigan. They had six children together. Bagley also served on the Detroit Common Council from 1860 to 1861, and was a member of the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners from 1865 to 1872. Bagley helped to organize the Michigan Mutual Life Insurance Company and served as its president from 1867 to 1872. During that time, he was also chairman of the

Michigan Republican Party The Michigan Republican Party is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party in Michigan, United States, sometimes referred to as MIGOP. Ronna Romney McDaniel was the chairwoman of the party, having been elected in 2015 by delegates ...

from 1868 to 1870. Bagley served as

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 ...

between 1873 and 1877. He encouraged the establishment of a state commission to regulate railroads, dealt with the matter of juvenile delinquency, and led the effort to establish the state Board of Health and the state Fish Commission. Bagley, a Unitarian, was an enthusiastic supporter of prohibition and passed the liquor-tax law.

Retirement and death

Bagley died in San Francisco from tuberculosis, three days after his 49th birthday. He was interred in

Woodmere Cemetery Woodmere Cemetery is at West Fort Street and Woodmere Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, in the neighborhood of Springwells Village in what was originally the township of Springwells. Woodmere Cemetery is operated by the Midwest Memorial Group. Hist ...

of Detroit. In 2019, his once believed to be lost statue was discovered in storage at the

Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is a museum institution located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. It has list of largest art museums, one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it cove ...

.Michigan Governor John Bagley bust found
freep.com. Accessed March 28, 2024.

References

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Profile
National Governor's Association website. Accessed March 28, 2024.

PoliticalGraveyard.com. Accessed March 28, 2024.

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bagley, John J. 1832 births Republican Party governors of Michigan American Unitarians 1881 deaths People from Medina, New York Politicians from Lockport, New York People from Constantine, Michigan People from Owosso, Michigan Tuberculosis deaths in California Infectious disease deaths in California 19th-century Michigan politicians