Governors of Kansas Territory - John W. Geary (Paperback)

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: John White Geary (December 30, 1819 February 8, 1873) was an American lawyer, politician, and a Union general in the American Civil War. He was the final alcalde and first mayor of San Francisco, California, a governor of the Kansas Territory, and the 16th governor of Pennsylvania. Geary was born near Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, in Westmoreland Countyin what is today the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. He was the son of Richard Geary, an ironmaster and schoolmaster, and Margaret White, a native of Maryland. Starting at the age of 14, he attended nearby Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, studying civil engineering and law, but was forced to leave before graduation due to the death of his father, whose debts he assumed. He worked at a variety of jobs, including as a surveyor and land speculator in Kentucky, earning enough to return to college and graduate in 1841. He worked as a construction engineer for the Allegheny Portage Railroad. In 1843, he married Margaret Ann Logan, with whom he had several sons, but she died in 1853. Geary then married the widowed Mary Church Henderson in 1858 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Geary was active in the state militia as a teenager and when the Mexican-American War started, he enlisted in the 2nd Pennsylvania Infantry, serving as lieutenant colonel. He led the regiment heroically at Chapultepec, and was wounded five times in the process. Geary was an excellent target for enemy fire: a huge man for that era, he stood six feet six inches tall, 260 pounds (118 kg) and solidly built. Altogether, he was wounded at least ten times in his military career. Geary's exploits at Belen gate earned him the rank of colonel and he returned home a war hero. Moving west, Geary was appointed postmaster of San Francisc... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=443512