Samuel Clarence Ford (November 7, 1882November 25, 1961) was an American politician who served as the 12th Governor of

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 ...

from 1941 to 1949.

Biography

Ford was born on November 7, 1882, in

Albany, Kentucky Albany is a home rule-class city in Clinton County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 1,760 as of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Clinton County. It is located on U.S. Route 127, about north of the Tennessee borde ...

. His early education was in the public schools of

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and he graduated from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

with an LL.B. in 1906. He established a legal practice as well as a public service career in

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 ...

. He married Mary Leslie Shobe in 1910 and they had four children.

Career

Ford was a member of the Republican Party. He served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for Montana from 1908 to 1914 and served as the

Attorney General of Montana The Montana Department of Justice is a state law enforcement agency of Montana. The Department is equivalent to the State Bureau of Investigation in other states. The Montana Attorney General, currently Republican Austin Knudsen, heads the age ...

from 1917 to 1921. He was a

Supreme Court Justice The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest-ranking judicial body in the United States. Its membership, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869, consists of the chief justice of the United States and eight associate justices, any six of ...

on the Montana State Supreme Court from 1929 to 1933. Ford was elected

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 ...

on November 5, 1940, narrowly defeating incumbent Governor

Roy E. Ayers Roy Elmer Ayers (November 9, 1882May 23, 1955) was a U.S. Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and as the List of Governors of Montana, 11th Governor of Monta ...

. In

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

, he was re-elected comfortably over Leif Erickson, the former Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court. Ford ran for re-election in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

, but was defeated in the general election by former

State Attorney General The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the District of Columbia, federal district, or of any of the Territories of the United States, territories is the chief legal advisor to the State governments of the United States, sta ...

John W. Bonner, and retired from politics. During his tenure as governor, he reduced the state bureaucracy, balanced the budget, launched the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

development project to provide cheap electricity to farmers. He was a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

in 1952.

Death

Ford died in

Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer * Saint Helena (disambiguation), this includes places Places Greece * Helena ...

on November 25, 1961, and he is interred at Forestvale Cemetery, Helena, Lewis and Clark County, Montana US.

References

External links

Montana Historical Society

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Sam C. People from Albany, Kentucky University of Kansas alumni Republican Party governors of Montana 1882 births 1961 deaths Justices of the Montana Supreme Court Baptists from Kentucky Montana attorneys general 20th-century American judges 20th-century Baptists