Joseph Kemp Toole (May 12, 1851 – March 11, 1929) was a Democratic politician from

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

. He served as the first and fourth

Governor of Montana 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 ...

Biography

Toole was born in Savannah, Missouri and attended public school in

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri, Buchanan County, Missouri, United States. A small portion of the city extends north into Andrew County, Missouri, Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the princ ...

. In 1868, he graduated from the Western Military Institute in New Castle, Kentucky with honors. He moved to

Helena, Montana Helena (; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat, seat of Lewis and Clark County, Montana, Lewis and Clark County. Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold ...

in 1870; studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1871 and commenced practice in Helena. Toole was

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

of the third judicial district of Montana (1872–1876), and a member of the Montana Territorial House of Representatives (1879–1881), and member and president of the Montana Territorial Council (1881–1883). He married Lily Rosecrans, daughter of General

William Rosecrans William Starke Rosecrans (September 6, 1819March 11, 1898) was an American inventor, coal-oil company executive, diplomat, politician, and U.S. Army officer. He gained fame for his role as a Union general during the American Civil War. He was ...

, in 1890 and they had three children.

Career

Toole was a delegate to the State Constitutional Convention at Helena in 1884 and 1889, and elected as a Democrat to the Forty-ninth and Fiftieth Congresses (March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1889); he did not seek renomination in 1888. Toole was the first Governor of Montana (the only Democrat on the ticket that year to be elected), serving from November 8, 1889, until January 1, 1893. He resumed practice of law in Helena. Toole was a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

s in 1892 and 1904. He served as the fourth Governor of Montana from January 7, 1901, until April 1, 1908, when he resigned because of ill health. During his tenure, county treasurers were authorized to collect taxes on personal property, and there was legislation to ensure mine safety and mineworker protection.

Death

During retirement, Toole divided his time between his home in Helena and

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, until his death on March 11, 1929, at the age of 77. He is interred at Resurrection Cemetery in Helena, Montana.

References

External links

* *
National Governors Association
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Toole, Joseph 1851 births 1929 deaths People from Savannah, Missouri Politicians from Helena, Montana Politicians from San Francisco Members of the Montana Territorial Legislature Democratic Party governors of Montana Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from Montana Territory Candidates in the 1907 United States elections 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives