Marsh Giddings (19 November 1816 – 3 June 1875) was a politician from the U.S. 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, ...

, who was appointed as U.S. consul-general to India and later served as the governor of

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of '' Nuevo México'' becomi ...

from 1871 to 1875.

Early life

Giddings was born in

Sherman, Connecticut Sherman is the northernmost and least populous town of Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,527 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region. The town was formed in 1802 from t ...

, to William and Jane (Ely) Giddings, who moved to

Kalamazoo County, Michigan Kalamazoo County ( ) is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. , the population was 261,670. The county seat is Kalamazoo, Michigan, Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo County is included in the Kalamazoo–Portage, Michigan, ...

when he was 13. In 1834, he entered Western Reserve college (which later became part of

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

), at

Hudson, Ohio Hudson is a city in northern Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,110 at the 2020 census. It is a suburban community in the Akron metropolitan area. John Brown made his first public vow to destroy slavery here and the ci ...

, but did not finish. When he was 21 he was elected as a Justice of the Peace for

Richland Township, Kalamazoo County, Michigan Richland Township is a civil township of Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,693 at the 2020 census, up from 7,580 at the 2010 census. The village of Richland is located within the township. Richland Township ...

. In 1836, he married Louisa Mills.

Michigan politics

Giddings was elected as a member of the

Michigan State House of Representatives Michigan ( ) is a peninsular state in the Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, Indiana and Illinois to the southwest, Ohio ...

from Kalamazoo County in 1849. He served as a probate judge in Michigan, 1860–68; a

Presidential Elector In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president in the presidential election. This process is described in ...

for Michigan, 1864; a member of the Republican National Committee from Michigan, 1866–70; a delegate to Michigan state constitutional convention, 1867; and a delegate to Republican National Convention from Michigan in 1868.

National politics

U.S. President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

nominated Giddings to be consul-general of the United States at Calcutta, India, 1870, as part of his patronage based ''

spoils system In politics and government, a spoils system (also known as a patronage system) is a practice in which a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its supporters, friends (cronyism), and relatives (nepotism) as a rewar ...

''. Giddings was paid, but never left Michigan. Some biographical sketches indicate that Giddings declined to go to India due to concerns about his health. Grant then nominated Giddings as Governor of New Mexico Territory, after

Willard Warner Willard Warner (September 4, 1826 – November 23, 1906) was a brevet brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was a U.S. senator from the state of Alabama after the war. Early life and career Warner was born in ...

had declined that post. Giddings took up his duties at the end of August 1871, although he was not confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

until later that December.

New Mexico

Giddings was appalled by the violence and lawlessness in the territory. His first day in office he was confronted by a riot in Mesilla. When he requested troops to put down lawlessness in Cimarron, he was told that troops could be used in civil affairs only by a request from a U.S. Marshall or by orders from the president. The

Lincoln County War The Lincoln County War was an Old West conflict between rival factions which began in 1878 in Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory, the predecessor of the state of New Mexico, and continued until 1881. The feud became famous because of the p ...

s started during his tenure, but he didn’t have the resources to suppress the lawlessness in southern New Mexico either. In January 1874 the best he could do was to offer a reward of $500 for the arrest of those cowboys who had shot up a Hispanic dance in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

murdering four men, the seminal event starting the wars. Giddings died in office, and Territorial Secretary William G. Ritch acted as governor for about two months until the inauguration of

Samuel Beach Axtell Samuel Beach Axtell (October 14, 1819 – August 6, 1891) was an American jurist and politician. He is noted for serving as chief justice of the New Mexico Territorial Supreme Court, territorial Governor of Utah and New Mexico, and a two-term C ...

. Giddings was a Congregationalist, and even though he died in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

his body was shipped back to Michigan and he was buried at the Mountain Home Cemetery in Kalamazoo.

References

External links

"Marsh Giddings" ''Find-A-Grave listing''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giddings, Marsh 1816 births 1875 deaths Case Western Reserve University alumni Governors of New Mexico Territory Michigan state court judges Republican Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Politicians from Kalamazoo, Michigan American Congregationalists New Mexico Republicans 19th-century Michigan state court judges 19th-century members of the Michigan Legislature