Joseph Pomeroy Root (April 23, 1826 – July 20, 1885) was an American medical doctor, politician, and leader of the Kansas Free Staters. A descendant of an old New England family, Root was the great-grandson of Revolutionary War

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Seth Pomeroy. He graduated from the

Berkshire Medical College Berkshire Medical College (originally the Berkshire Medical Institution, and sometimes referred to as Berkshire Medical College) was a medical school in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It is notable for establishing the first professorship in mental ...

Pittsfield Pittsfield is the most populous city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsf ...

and practiced medicine in New Hartford,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

for five years. In 1855 he was elected to the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with each ...

, as a Whig. After his term, he joined an armed party of

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

settlers who ended up settling in Waubansee, Kansas. After Root was briefly a prisoner of pro-slavery settlers, he devoted himself to the Free State cause, ultimately becoming the chairman of the free-state executive committee. After negotiating an exchange of prisoners with pro-slavery Governor

Wilson Shannon Wilson Shannon (February 24, 1802 – August 30, 1877) was an American attorney and Democratic Party politician from Ohio. He served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives and was the 14th and 16th governor of Ohio. He was the first Ohi ...

, Root left Kansas to gather funds, arms, and support among Eastern abolitionists. On returning to Kansas, Root was elected to the territorial senate under the

Topeka Constitution The Topeka Constitutional Convention met from October 23 to November 11, 1855, in Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, Kansas Territory, in a building afterwards called Constitution Hall (Topeka, Kansas), Constitution Hall. It drafted the Topeka Constitution, ...

, and soon became president of the senate and a member of the Territorial Council. After the ratification of the

Wyandotte Constitution The Wyandotte Constitution is the constitution of the U.S. state of Kansas. Amended many times (including a universal suffrage amendment in 1912), the Wyandotte Constitution is still the constitution of Kansas. Background The Kansas Territory wa ...

in 1861, Root was elected as the first

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

of the new state. At the outbreak of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, Root helped raise units and was a member of the state board for examining medical officers for the army. He soon joined himself as a surgeon for the

2nd Regiment Kansas Volunteer Cavalry The 2nd Kansas Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 2nd Kansas Cavalry was organized at Kansas City, Kansas beginning on November 8, 1861, but its designation was change ...

, rising to become medical director of the

Army of the Frontier The Army of the Frontier was a Union army that served in the Trans-Mississippi Theater during the American Civil War. It fought in several minor engagements in Arkansas, Indian Territory, and Kansas. In June 1863 the Army was discontinued but ...

. After the Civil War Root returned to medical practice in Kansas until 1869, when he became secretary of the congressional Committee on Public Lands. In 1870 he was appointed ambassador to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, serving in that post until 1873. He received honors from the Chilean government for his work during a smallpox epidemic there. Root returned to Wyandotte and resumed his practice.United States Biographical Dictionary, Kansas Volume, Chicago and Kansas City, S. Lewis, 1879, p. 249-51 He retained an interest in politics and issues of the day, writing the book ''A Catechism of Money'' (1876), on the issues of gold and silver coinage and serving as a delegate to the 1884 Republican Party national convention. Root married Frances Eveline Alden (1827–?; survived until at least 1867), a descendant of

John Alden John Alden ( – September 12, 1687) was an English politician, settler, and cooper, best known for being a crew member on the historic 1620 voyage of the ''Mayflower'' which brought the English settlers commonly known as Pilgrims to Plymouth ...

of the

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reac ...

, in 1851; they had 5 sons, of whom 4 survived to adulthood: Ernest, Frank, Joseph P., and John W.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Root, Joseph Pomeroy Lieutenant governors of Kansas Ambassadors of the United States to Chile Bleeding Kansas Physicians from Massachusetts Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Members of the Kansas Territorial Legislature 19th-century American diplomats Kansas Republicans Connecticut Whigs American abolitionists 1826 births 1885 deaths Berkshire Medical College alumni 19th-century Kansas politicians 19th-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly