Daniel Dunklin
Daniel Dunklin | |
---|---|
John Miller | |
Succeeded by | Lilburn W. Boggs |
3rd Lieutenant Governor of Missouri | |
In office November 17, 1828 – November 19, 1832 | |
Governor | John Miller |
Preceded by | Vacant |
Succeeded by | Lilburn Boggs |
Personal details | |
Born | Near Greenville, South Carolina, US | January 14, 1790
Died | August 25, 1844 Herculaneum, Missouri, US | (aged 54)
Resting place | Gov. Daniel Dunklin's Grave State Historic Site |
Political party | Democratic Party |
Spouse | Emily Willis "Pamela" Haley |
Children | One son, five daughters |
Profession | Merchant, farmer, politician |
Military service | |
Branch/service | Missouri territorial militia |
Years of service | 1812–1815 |
Battles/wars | War of 1812 |
Daniel Dunklin (January 14, 1790 – August 25, 1844) was the
Early life
Daniel Dunklin was born to Sarah Margaret (Sullivan) and Joseph Dunklin Jr. in 1790 in Greenville, South Carolina. In 1805 Daniel's father purchased land in Caldwell County, Kentucky and intended to move his family there. However he died before the move could happen.[3] Dunklin's older brother and mother were successful in moving the family the next year. The teenage Dunklin worked unsuccessfully at farming while he also studied the writings of William Blackstone and others in hopes of a career as a lawyer.[1] In late 1810 Daniel Dunklin and his mother left Kentucky and moved to Louisiana Territory (Missouri Territory after 1812), living first in Ste. Genevieve then in 1811 settling in the area around present-day Potosi on a parcel of ground he received through a Spanish land grant.[4] During the War of 1812 Dunklin served with the Missouri militia, seeing battle in several actions in Missouri and Illinois.[5]
Following the war Daniel Dunklin traveled back to Kentucky for a short time so that he might marry his childhood sweetheart, Emily Willis "Pamela" Haley, on May 2, 1815. Soon after the couple returned to the Potosi area where Dunklin engaged in mining activities as well as built and ran a tavern.[6] By this time Dunklin had also fulfilled an earlier dream and was a practicing frontier lawyer in Potosi and elsewhere in the region.[7]
Public service
In 1815 territorial Governor
Governorship
In the
In 1833 one of Dunklin's earliest acts as Governor was to appoint a commission on education. This three member body would determine the needs of the state and draw up a plan for public education facilities. The commissions report was presented to the Governor in 1834 and through his efforts its recommendations were approved by the legislature the next year. Effectively establishing a state board of education, standards, and a means of funding, it placed Missouri among the forefront in educating its citizens, outshining even some long-established eastern states.[7] Governor Dunklin also laid the groundwork for the establishment of the University of Missouri when, in 1834, he recommended land sales to fund a state university and a site be chosen for its construction.[6] During his tenure Missouri's debt was significantly reduced and nine new counties were added. Dunklin also oversaw the construction of the Missouri State Penitentiary during his time in office and pushed for less corporal punishment in the state's penal system.[5][6]
The Mormon issue
One area of controversy during Dunklin's administration was the treatment of
Governor Daniel Dunklin resigned his position in the summer of 1836, having been granted a Federal appointment by President
Later life
Other than the aforementioned Arkansas border commission, Daniel Dunklin turned the remaining years of his life to his business and family matters. In 1840 Dunklin sold off all his property and business concerns in the Potosi area and moved to farmland near Herculaneum, Missouri. Enjoying the life of a wealthy gentleman farmer, Dunklin was caught out in the open during a severe storm. Soaked to the bone, he developed pneumonia and died shortly after on August 25, 1844.[1][3] Governor Dunklin was buried in a field near his home. However, his children were not as successful in business and were forced to sell the estate. A small section was reserved as a family cemetery and the bodies of the late governor and his wife were exhumed and reburied there.[15] Today the cemetery is maintained as the Gov. Daniel Dunklin's Grave State Historic Site.
References
- ^ a b c d Christensen, Lawrence O., Dictionary of Missouri Biography, University of Missouri Press, 1999, pp.265–266
- ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 110.
- ^ a b "Daniel Dunklin biographical sketch" (PDF). The State Historical Society of Missouri website. December 14, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
- ^ "Dunklin, Daniel biography". The Church Historians Press. 2012. Archived from the original on January 4, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Mo. Governor Daniel Dunklin". National Governors Association website. 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f "Daniel Dunklin:Father of Public Schools". Mo. Department of Natural Resources via State Parks website. 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
- ^ a b Douglass, Robert Sidney, History of Southeast Missouri Lewis Publishing Co., 1912
- ^ "1832 Missouri Gubernatorial Election results". Our Campaigns.com. March 8, 2005. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
- ^ James Roger Sharp, "Gov. Daniel Dunklin's Jacksonian Democracy in Missouri, 1832–1836," Missouri Historical Review 56, no. 3 (April 1962): 217–229.
- ^ Stephen Campbell, "Hickory Wind: The Role of Personality and the Press in Andrew Jackson's Bank War in Missouri, 1831–1837," Missouri Historical Review 101, no. 3 (April 2007):146–167.
- ^ William H. Lyon, The Pioneer Editor in Missouri 1808–1860 (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1965).
- Nauvoo Journal. 10 (2). Ensign Peak Foundation: 3–17. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
- ^ Godfrey, Matthew C. (2014). "'The Redemption of Zion Must Needs Come by Power'". BYU Studies. 53 (4): 125–146. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
- ^ Greene, John P. (1839). Facts Relative to the Expulsion of the Mormons or Latter Day Saints, from the State of Missouri, under the "Exterminating Order". Cincinnati, Ohio: R. P. Brooks. p. 26.
- ^ "Governor Daniel Dunklin". City of Herculaneum website. 2009. Retrieved July 30, 2012.