Henry Markham

{{short description|18th Governor of California, U.S. congressman}} {{about||the British civil servant |Henry Vaughan Markham|the neuroscientist|Henry Markram}} {{Lead too short|date=July 2021}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Henry Harrison Markham | image = Governor H. H. Markham Alt Edit.jpg | alt = Henry Markham | caption = Markham {{circa}} 1890 | order1 = 18th | office1 = Governor of California | term_start1 = January 8, 1891 | term_end1 = January 11, 1895 | lieutenant1 = John B. Reddick | predecessor1 = Robert Waterman | successor1 = James Budd | state2 = California | district2 = {{ushr|California|6|6th}} | term_start2 = March 4, 1885 | term_end2 = March 3, 1887 | predecessor2 = ''District created'' | successor2 = William Vandever | birth_date = {{birth date|1840|11|16|mf=y}} | birth_place = Wilmington, New York, US | death_date = {{death date and age|1923|10|9|1840|11|16}} | death_place = Pasadena, California, US | party = Republican | spouse = {{marriage|Mary A. Dana|1876|1923}} | children = 5 | occupation = Lawyer, soldier and politician | signature = Signature of Henry Harrison Markham (1840–1923).png | allegiance = United States | branch = United States Volunteers<br />Union Army | rank = 2nd Lieutenant, USV | service_years = 1863–1865 | unit = 32nd Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry | battles = American Civil War }}

'''Henry Harrison Markham''' (November 16, 1840{{spaced ndash}}October 9, 1923) was an American lawyer and Republican politician. He was the 18th governor of California (1891–1895), and represented California's 6th congressional district during the 49th United States Congress (1885–1887). Earlier in life, he served as a Union Army officer in the American Civil War.

== Early life == Markham was born in Wilmington, New York, on November 16, 1840.<ref name="newspaper_markham1923"/><ref name="library_ca_markham"/> He attended the common schools of his hometown and Wheeler's Academy in Vermont. He moved to Wisconsin in 1861.

== Career == [[File:Stanford's Shoes, Wasp Caricature of Henry Markham, 1893.jpg|thumb|left|"Stanford's Shoes," a caricature of Markham published in ''The Wasp'', July 29, 1893]] During the Civil War, Markham enlisted as a private in Company G, 32nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment; he was promoted to second lieutenant. Markham was part of General William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea in 1864. He was wounded at the Battle of Rivers' Bridge in 1865, and discharged.

After the war Markham returned to Wisconsin and settled in Milwaukee, where he studied law and passed the bar in 1867. He practiced law in Milwaukee in the state and federal courts. In 1879, Markham moved to Pasadena, California and continued the practice of law.

=== Congress === Markham was elected as a Republican to the 49th Congress in 1884, but declined to seek renomination in 1886.

=== Governor === He was elected governor of California in 1890 and inaugurated in January 1891.<ref name="newspaper_markham1923"/> During his term, California's economy suffered badly from the Panic of 1893. Hoping to boost economic recovery, Markham strongly backed the California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894, held in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park; it was a resounding success. Markham declined to seek a second term as governor in 1894.

[[File:California Governor Henry Markham at his fishing camp on the West Fork of San Gabriel River, ca.1896 Crop.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|Ex-Governor Markham at his fishing camp on the West Fork of San Gabriel River, {{circa}} 1896]]

=== Later career === In Pasadena Markham was on the school board and was one of the founders of the Pasadena public library. He was also part of the Calico Union Mining Company. During his run for governor he was referred to as "the dashing colonel from Pasadena," and he was a longtime member of the Pasadena Republican Club.

== Personal life == On May 17, 1876, Markham married Mary A. Dana in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He purchased a 23-acre ranch in Pasadena, California, and he and his family moved there in 1879. They had five daughters: Marie, Alice, Gertrude, Genevieve, and Hildreth.

=== Death and burial === On October 9, 1923, Markham died in his Pasadena home at age 82. He was interred at Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena.<ref name="newspaper_markham1923">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77585232/death-takes-former-governor-h-h/ |title=Death Takes Former Governor H. H. Markham |newspaper=The Sacramento Bee |location=Pasadena, California |agency=AP |page=1 |date=October 9, 1923 |accessdate=June 3, 2021 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name="library_ca_markham">{{cite web |URL=https://governors.library.ca.gov/18-Markham.html |title=The Governor's Gallery - Henry Harrison Markham (1891–1895) |website=governors.library.ca.gov |accessdate=June 3, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |URL=https://governors.library.ca.gov/firstladies/16-Markham.html |title=The First Ladies/Partners of California- Mary Markham (1891–1895) |website=governors.library.ca.gov |accessdate=June 3, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |URL=https://calisphere.org/item/a6981ad87376577a3743aaf39ff0c0a7/ |title=Home of Governor H.H. Markham on South Pasadena Ave, Pasadena |website=calisphere.org |accessdate=June 3, 2021}}(Note: The house, located at 703 S. Pasadena Ave., was demolished in 1939.) </ref>

== Electoral history == {{Election box begin no change | title= 1884 United States House of Representatives elections }} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change | party = Republican Party (US) | candidate = Henry Markham | votes = 17,397 | percentage = 49.1 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = Democratic Party (US) | candidate = R. A. Del Valle | votes = 16,990 | percentage = 47.9 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = Prohibition Party | candidate = Will D. Gould | votes = 821 | percentage = 2.3 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = Populist Party (US) | candidate = Isaac Kinley | votes = 237 | percentage = 0.7 }} {{Election box total no change | votes = 35,445 | percentage = 100.0 }} {{Election box new seat win | winner = Republican Party (US) }} {{End}} {{Election box begin | title = California gubernatorial election, 1890<ref name="results">{{cite book |title=California Blue Book, or State Roster 1891|author=California Secretary of State|publisher=State Printing Office|location=Sacramento, California |pages=88 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112118419578&view=1up&seq=104 |access-date=17 July 2024}}</ref> }} {{Election box winning candidate with party link | |party = Republican Party (United States) |candidate = Henry Markham |votes = 125,129 |percentage = 49.56% |change = +6.46% }} {{Election box candidate with party link | |party = Democratic Party (United States) |candidate = Edward B. Pond |votes = 117,184 |percentage = 46.42% |change = +2.98% }} {{Election box candidate with party link | |party = Prohibition Party (United States) |candidate = John Bidwell |votes = 10,073 |percentage = 3.99% |change = +0.70% }} {{Election box candidate | |party = |candidate = Scattering |votes = 71 |percentage = 0.03% |change = }} {{Election box majority| | votes = 7,945 | percentage = 3.15% | change = }} {{Election box total | |votes = 252,457 |percentage = 100.00% |change = }} {{Election box hold with party link | |winner = Republican Party (United States) |loser = Democratic Party (United States) |swing = +3.48% }} {{Election box end}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

* {{CongBio|M000134}} *Treasure from the Painted Hills: A History of Calico, California, 1882–1907, page 18, By Douglas W. Steeples, David O. Whitten

==External links== * {{commons category-inline|Henry Harrison Markham}} * {{Internet Archive author |sname=Henry Harrison Markham |sopt=t}} * [https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2013/04/24/caltrans-houses-added-to-national-listing-for-markham-place-historic-district/ Caltrans houses added to national listing for Markham Place Historic District at pasadenastarnews.com (2013)]

{{s-start}} {{s-ppo}} {{s-bef|before=John Franklin Swift}} {{s-ttl|title=Republican nominee for Governor of California|years=1890}} {{s-aft|after=Morris M. Estee}} {{s-off}} {{succession box|title=Governor of California|before=Robert Waterman|after=James Budd|years=1891–1895}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=California | district=6 | before=None | after=William Vandever | years=1885–1887}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Markham, Henry Harrison}} Category:1840 births Category:1923 deaths Category:Governors of California Category:People from Essex County, New York Category:Politicians from Pasadena, California Category:Lawyers from Pasadena, California Category:People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War Category:Republican Party governors of California Category:Wisconsin Republicans Category:Republican Party United States representatives from California Category:19th-century United States representatives Category:Burials at Mountain View Cemetery (Altadena, California)