George Coe (Michigan politician) explained

George Coe
Order1:11th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan
Term Start1:1855
Term End1:1859
Governor1:Kinsley S. Bingham
Predecessor1:George Griswold
Successor1:Edmund Burke Fairfield
Office2:Member of the Michigan Senate
Term Start2:1846
Term End2:1847
Constituency2:4th district (1846)
3rd district (1847)
State House3:Michigan
District3:Branch County
Alongside3:Oliver C. Comstock
Term Start3:1849
Term End3:1849
Predecessor3:Alvarado Brown and Benjamin F. Ferris
Successor3:Oliver D. Colvin and Roland Root
Birth Date:16 August 1811
Birth Place:Rush, New York
Death Place:Coldwater, Michigan
Resting Place:Oak Grove Cemetery
Coldwater, Michigan
Relatives:Descendants of Robert Coe
Party:Whig
Republican Party

George Alonzo Coe (August 16, 1811 – October 21, 1869) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. He served as the 11th lieutenant governor of Michigan.

Early life

Coe was born in Rush, New York and moved to Illinois at a young age. He was raised on his father's farm until the age of fourteen and then attended school and taught school.[1] He studied law with Judge Pratt in Rochester, New York and began the practice of law in Coldwater, Michigan in 1839. In 1856, Coe became a law partner with future Congressman Charles Upson.[2]

Political career

Coe held various political positions in Michigan, and was elected as a Whig candidate to the Michigan House of Representatives in 1840.[3] In 1846 he was elected to the Michigan Senate to represent the 4th District, and in 1847 he was elected to the State Senate to represent the 3rd District. Coe was elected as the first Republican to serve as the 11th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan. He served as Lieutenant Governor from 1855 to 1859 under Michigan Governor Kinsley Bingham.[4]

Coe was also a delegate to the 1856 Republican National Convention from Michigan, which nominated John C. Fremont for U. S. President, however Fremont lost to James Buchanan in the general election.[5] Coe left office in 1859 at the age of fifty-eight, and resumed his legal practice.

He died in Coldwater, Michigan on October 21, 1869, ten years after leaving office.[6] He is interred in Oak Grove Cemetery in Coldwater.

Further reading

External links


Notes and References

  1. Book: the University of Michigan. EARLY HISTORY WITH BIOGRAPHIES OF STATE OFFICERS. 1888. the University of Michigan. 181. 13 June 2014.
  2. Book: Hubbell. John T. and Geary, James W.. Biographical Dictionary of the Union: Northern Leaders of the Civil War. 1995. Greenwood Publishing Group. 548. 9780313209208. 13 June 2014.
  3. Book: the University of Michigan. EARLY HISTORY WITH BIOGRAPHIES OF STATE OFFICERS. 1888. the University of Michigan. 181. 13 June 2014.
  4. Book: Collin. Rev. Henry P.. A TWENTIETH CENTURY History and Biographical Record OF BRANCH COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 1906. REV. HENRY P. COLLIN, M. A.. 216. 13 June 2014.
  5. Book: Republican Party (Mich.). Proceedings at celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the birth of the Republican party: at Jackson, Michigan, July 6, 1904. 1904. Republican Party (Mich.). 74. 13 June 2014.
  6. Book: The Society. Historical Collections, Volume 14. 1908. The Society. 13 June 2014.