GOVERNORS OF MINNESOTA
Willis Arnold Gorman
Second Territorial Governor
May 15, 1853 - April 27, 1857
Born: January 12, 1816
in Flemingsburg, Kentucky
Died: May 20, 1876
in St. Paul, Minnesota
Married to: Martha Stone (1836)
Emily Newington (1865)
Ethnic Background: Irish
Occupation: Lawyer, Illinois legislator, Indiana congressman
Party: Democratic
Biography
Willis Arnold Gorman, the second territorial governor of Minnesota, was born January 12, 1816, in Fleming County, Kentucky. He was the only child of David and Elizabeth Gorman, both of Irish descent. In 1835, the family moved to Bloomington, Indiana, where Gorman studied law at Indiana University. In January, 1836, he married Martha Stone in Bloomington.
Soon after being admitted to the bar, Gorman entered politics as the clerk (1838), and then as enrolling secretary (1839-40) of the Indiana Senate. He served as a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from 1841-44.
When the Mexican War broke out, Gorman enlisted as a private, but was later appointed as a major in the 3rd Indiana Regiment. When his term of service ended, he re-enlisted and was appointed colonel. His regiment served in the capture of Huamantla and in several significant battles.
Upon his return, Gorman's political career advanced to the national level. He served as a Democratic delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from 1849 to 1853. As a representative, he supported Franklin Pierce in his successful bid for the presidency and was rewarded with the governorship of the Minnesota Territory.
While territorial governor, Gorman also served as the superintendent of Indian affairs for Minnesota Territory and was a key figure in negotiating several treaties, including the removal in 1853 of the Sioux bands from opposite St. Paul to Redwood and Yellow Medicine on the Minnesota River. During his term he also set up a system of taxing the railroads in return for granting the railroads land for expansion.
During his leadership, a bill was introduced to the legislature that would have moved the capital of the territory from St. Paul to St. Peter. Gorman would have benefited both politically and financially from the bill; St. Peter was home to the St. Peter Company, in which Gorman held stock, and the company agreed to build territorial buildings if the capital were moved. The measure passed in both houses, but before Gorman could sign it, Joseph Rolette, Jr.—the chairman of the committee on enrolled bills—disappeared and took the bill with him. He could not be found before the session ended and the bill was never passed.
When his term ended in 1857, Gorman returned to law, practicing in St. Paul. He became a delegate to the constitutional convention. When the convention split into two separate, partisan sessions, he became active in the Democratic convention. He became a member of the committee to create one constitution out of the Democratic and Republican drafts. During one meeting of the committee, however, he broke his cane over the head of a Republican delegate after the delegate insulted him.
In 1859, Gorman was elected to the Minnesota state legislature. During the 1860 presidential campaign, he vigorously supported his personal friend, Stephen Douglas. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Gorman enlisted in the 1st Minnesota Volunteers and was appointed colonel. Due to his gallant service at the Battle of Bull Run, he was made a brigadier general on October 1, 1861. Gorman also led his troops at Antietam, the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. He left the military in 1864.
In 1864 Gorman returned to St. Paul, where he practiced law with Cushman K. Davis, who later became governor. Gorman's first wife, Martha Stone, died on March 1, 1864, and he remarried on April 27, 1865, to Emily Newington of St. Paul. Gorman became the city attorney of St. Paul in 1869 and served until his death on May 20, 1876.
