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Charles T. Gorham

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Charles Truesdell Gorham
U.S. Minister to the Netherlands
In office
December 15, 1870 – July 9, 1875
PresidentUlysses S. Grant
Preceded byJoseph Pomeroy Root
Succeeded byFrancis B. Stockbridge
Member of the Michigan Senate
from the 13th district
In office
1859–1860
Preceded byNathan Pierce
Succeeded byGeorge H. French
Personal details
Born(1812-05-29)May 29, 1812
Danbury, Connecticut, US
DiedMarch 11, 1901(1901-03-11) (aged 88)
Marshall, Michigan, US
Political partyRepublican
SpouseCharlotte Eaton Hart
Children3

Charles T. Gorham (May 29, 1812 – March 11, 1901) was a Michigan banker and diplomat. He was one of the founders of the Republican party, an anti-slavery activist and a major general and division commander in the Michigan Militia during the years immediately preceding the American Civil War. After the war he served as United States Ambassador to the Netherlands and Assistant Secretary of the Interior.

Life and career

Charles Truesdell Gorham was born in Danbury, Connecticut on May 29, 1812. He was raised in Oneonta, New York and trained for a business career.[1]

In 1836, Gorham moved to Marshall, Michigan where he was a merchant. In 1840, he started a bank, which he operated privately until 1865. That year he incorporated the institution as the First National Bank of Marshall, and he served as President until retiring in 1898.[2][3]

Originally a Democrat and later a Whig, Gorham was one of the founders of the Republican party when it was organized in the mid-1850s. In 1855, he was appointed Major General and commander of one of three divisions in the state militia, and in 1859 he was elected to one term in the Michigan State Senate where he represented the 13th district.[4] Gorham used both positions to recruit, train, and reorganize the militia in anticipation of the Civil War. He was a Delegate to the Republican National Conventions of 1864 and 1868, and served as a Presidential elector from Michigan in 1868, casting votes for the ticket of Ulysses S. Grant and Schuyler Colfax.[5][6][7]

An anti-slavery activist and participant in the Underground Railroad, Gorham was one of the principals in the Crosswhite Affair, in which several individuals from Kentucky attempted to capture an African American family in Marshall and return them to slavery in Kentucky. More than 200 individuals from Marshall led by Gorham prevented this act. The Crosswhite Affair was the subject of several criminal and civil court cases, including the Giltner v. Gorham et al. federal case of June, 1848.[8] It was one of the events that led to passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.[9]

From 1870 to 1875 Gorahm served as Minister to the Netherlands.[10] He served as Assistant Secretary of the Interior from March, 1876 to April, 1877, afterwards returning to his banking interests in Marshall.[11][12]

Gorham retired in 1898. He died in Marshall on March 11, 1901.[13] Gorham was buried in Marshall's Oakridge Cemetery.

Charles T. Gorham was married to Charlotte Eaton Hart of Durham, New York on April 10, 1839. They had two sons and one daughter—Selden H., Charles E. and Isabella.[14][15][16]

References

  1. ^ American Historical Society, American Biography: A New Cyclopedia, Volume 43, 1930, page 82
  2. ^ Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society, Historical Collections, Volume 31, 1902, pages 27 to 30
  3. ^ Debbie Pardoe, Susan Collins, Marshall, 2008, page 34
  4. ^ "Legislator Details - Charles T. Gorham". Library of Michigan. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  5. ^ Western Publishing Co., American Biographical History of Eminent and Self and Self-Made Men of the State of Michigan, 1878, page 331
  6. ^ Michigan Historical Commission, Michigan Historical Collections, Volume 31, 1902, pages 28 to 30
  7. ^ "The Political Graveyard: Michigan Presidential Electors, 1868". Archived from the original on February 9, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
  8. ^ "GILTNER V. GORHAM ET AL. Case No. 5,453" (PDF). law.resource.org. YesWeScan: The FEDERAL CASES. 1848. Retrieved 23 Jun 2020.
  9. ^ Carol E. Mull, The Underground Railroad in Michigan, 2010, pages 107 to 110
  10. ^ Detroit Free Press, The Mission to the Netherlands, July 17, 1875
  11. ^ Chapman Bros., Calhoun County Portrait and Biographical Album, 1891, pages 191 to 192
  12. ^ Detroit Free Press, Washington: Charles T. Gorham of Michigan Appointed Assistant Secretary of the Interior, March 3, 1876
  13. ^ New York Times, Death List of a Day: C. T. Gorham, March 13, 1901
  14. ^ James T. White & Company, The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume 7, 1897, page 549
  15. ^ Western Publishing and Engraving Co., Cyclopedia of Michigan, Historical and Biographical, 1900, pages 325 to 326
  16. ^ American Historical Company, American Biography: A New Cyclopedia, Volume 43, 1930, page 85
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by U.S. Minister to the Netherlands
1870–1875 		Succeeded by
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