William Jonathan Northen (1835 - 1913)

Born 9 Jul 1835 in Jones County, Georgia

Husband of Martha Moss (Neel) Northen — married 18 Dec 1860 in Hancock, Georgia, United States

Descendants

Died 25 Mar 1913 at age 77 in Atlanta, Georgia

William Northen is Notable.

Preceded by 53rd Governor John Brown Gordon

William J. Northen 54th Governor of Georgia 1890—1894

Succeeded by 55th Governor William Yates Atkinson

Biography

Born in Jones County, Georgia, Northen graduated from Mercer University ^[1]in 1853. He married Martha Neel in 1860^[2] and served as a two-term member of the Georgia House of Representatives (1877–1881). He also was elected to the Georgia Senate in 1884. He was one of the biggest planters in Hancock County, Georgia.Georgia.^[3]

Forced to resign from teaching, Northen began to farm. After the Civil War, farming in Georgia needed reform. Northen set his sights on the Georgia House of Representatives, where he earned the trust of fellow farmers in the same situation as he. He uplifted the spirits of his fellow Georgians, who elected him to two terms in the state House, one term in the state Senate, and president of the Georgia Agricultural Society. He was elected to his first term as governor in 1890.

Northen was a Democrat and a staunch foe of the Populist party.[3] He promoted biracial cooperation among races and was against lynching, a common occurrence at the time.[4] "I regret that the necessity exists for recommending the passage of more stringent laws for the protection of human life," he told state legislators in October 1892.

He was a proponent of temperance, and offered a temperance bill to the Georgia General Assembly on July 14, 1881. The bill passed the House, but was swiftly defeated in the Senate.

Despite opposition from Thomas E. Watson, who supported the Populist Party's candidate, Northen won a second term as governor in 1892.

Northen contributed to the history of Georgia by compiling a seven-volume collection of biographical essays, published between 1907 and 1912, titled Men of Mark in Georgia, Volume I. In 1911, he replaced Allen D. Candler as compiler of state records and contributed to the ongoing publication of the Colonial Records of Georgia series.^[4]

He died in 1913, in Atlanta, Georgia. Northen is buried in Oakland Cemetery.^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ U.S., College Student Lists, 1763-1924 Name: William Northen Publication Year: 1847 Publication State: Georgia School Name: Mercer University Residence: Penfield, Georgia Title: Catalogue of the officers and students of Mercer University, 1846-47.
2. ↑ Georgia, Marriage Records From Select Counties, 1828-1978 Name: Wm S Northen Gender: Male Marriage Date: 19 Dec 1860 Marriage Place: Hancock, Georgia, USA Spouse: Martha M Neel Spouse Gender: Female
3. ↑ Year: 1880; Census Place: District 108, Hancock, Georgia; Roll: 150; Page: 191C; Enumeration District: 044
4. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Northen
5. ↑ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7937492 Find A Grave Memorial# 7937492