Alonzo Garcelon
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Dr. Alonzo Garcelon (May 6, 1813 – December 8, 1906) was a Governor of Maine, an American Civil War surgeon general, and a founder of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.
Garcelon was born in Lewiston, Maine, to French Huguenot parents. In 1836 Garcelon graduated from Bowdoin College, and in 1839 he graduated from the Medical College of Ohio and then returned to Lewiston to practice. Garcelon co-founded the Lewiston Journal in 1847. He served in the Maine House of Representatives from 1853–54, 1857–58, and in the Maine Senate from 1855-56. Garcelon was instrumental in bringing Bates College to Lewiston in 1855 and served as an instructor and longtime trustee at the College. He was elected as a Delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1856.
During the Civil War, Garcelon served in the Union Army as a Maine's Surgeon General. During the impeachment of Andrew Johnson after the War, Garcelon became disgusted with the Republican Party and became a Democrat. In 1871 he was elected mayor of Lewiston, and in 1879 he was elected Governor of Maine by the legislature, serving one term until 1880.
During his term as governor, Garcelon oversaw the "Greenback" controversy, when he investigated alleged voter fraud and determined that the Democrats and not the Republicans had won a majority in the legislature. Senator James Blaine came to Augusta with a hundred armed men to protest the results, and Garcelon called out the state militia. Civil war was narrowly averted, thanks to the peaceful intervention of militia leader Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. In 1883 Garcelon was once again elected mayor of Lewiston.
Garcelon died in Medford, Massachusetts, and was buried at Riverside Cemetery in Lewiston, Maine.
Garcelon Field at Bates College is named after Dr. Garcelon, as is the Alonzo Garcelon Society, which provides scholarships to Bates for local students.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- "Bio of Alonzo A. Gercelon, M.D." Representative Men of Maine: A Collection of Biographical Sketches,(Portland, ME: The Lakeside Press, 1893). (link)
| Preceded by Seldon Connor |
Governor of Maine 1879-1880 |
Succeeded by Daniel F. Davis |
| Governors of Maine |  |
|---|---|
| W. King • Williamson • Ames • Parris • Lincoln • Cutler • Hall • Hunton • Smith • Dunlap • Kent • Fairfield • Kent • Fairfield • Kavanagh • Anderson • Dana • Hubbard • Crosby • A. Morrill • Wells • Hamlin • Williams • L. Morrill • Washburn • Coburn • Cony • Chamberlain • Perham • Dingley • Connor • Garcelon • Davis • Plaisted • Robie • Bodwell • Marble • Burleigh • Cleaves • Powers • Hill • Cobb • Fernald • F. Plaisted • Haines • O. Curtis • Milliken • Parkhurst • Baxter • Brewster • Gardiner • Brann • Barrows • Sewall • Hildreth • Payne • N. Haskell • Cross • Muskie • R. Haskell • Clauson • Reed • K. Curtis • Longley • Brennan • McKernan • A. King • Baldacci |
