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| Affiliation | Republican |
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| Name | John N. Irwin |
| Address |
Keokuk, Iowa , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
December 25, 1847
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| Died | December 22, 1905
(57 years)
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| Contributor | Thomas Walker |
| Last Modifed | Thomas Walker
Dec 14, 2005 05:00pm |
| Tags |
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| Info | Some politicians feel a duty to public service, John Nicol Irwin was one of those politicians. Dedicated to the development of the West, he served both as the governor of Idaho and the governor of Arizona. His magnificent public service was cut short only by the death of his mother in 1892. Arizona was the poorer without him.
Born December 25, 1844 in Butler County, Ohio to Stephen and Elizabeth Nicol Irwin. He was educated in Ohio and in Keokuk, Iowa where his family moved in 1856. He attended Miami University before enlisting in the Civil War as a Sergeant in the Iowa Infantry at 17 years of age. After the war, he enrolled in Dartmouth and graduated from there in 1867. He returned afterward to Keokuk, Iowa to practice law and married Mary Love Rankin on June 6, 1871. He was the mayor of Keokuk in the 1880s. Motivated by a sense of duty to hold office in the West, he was appointed to the governorship of the Idaho Territory on March 1, 1883 and was later appointed to the governorship of Arizona to replace the removed Wolfley.
His immediate goals were to reduce the territorial debt which was $3,427,000, mainly attributed to tax evasion in the territory, which was rampant. He created Coconino County and also vetoed which some of the worst bills in territorial history such as, funding for sectarian schools, creation of the post of county auditor, and the leasing of convict labor to private contractors. He was a strong supporter of statehood and took measures to help accomplish that goal. He attempted to sway the federal government any way he could, he mentioned the enormous profits the government would receive from Arizona's mining, agriculture, and gambling revenues. He orders a bridge to be built over the Salt River and orders the end of Mexican celebrations. He demanded more mounted police to protect settlers from wild Indians, and more reform schools. During the 16th legislature he passed a measure to create secret ballots and a gambling tax.
In order to achieve statehood, Governor Irwin decided that a state constitution must be drafted. On March 24, 1891 and election was held to select the delegates to the Constitutional Convention. Winners were to meet in September of that year to create a constitution that was to be ratified by the people and sent to the United States Congress for approval. On December 28, 1891 the Governor approved the constitution and submitted it to the general vote, which was approved 5,440-2,282. The U.S. Congress failed to pass the constitution and statehood fails. Many at the time argued that the support for Free Silver, and that all taxes should be collected in silver or gold were the main reasons that statehood did not pass.
He left office on April 18, 1892 after his mother had died in Keokuk. He had been attending to family business after his mother's death prior to his resignation, but his long stay outside of the territory prompted the Secretary of the Territory to ask for his resignation or to resume his duties as governor. Irwin chose to resign. He remained in Keokuk, Iowa for the remainder of his life except to serve an appointment as a U.S. minister to Portugal from 1899-1902. He died in Hot Springs, Arkansas on December 22, 1905. He is buried in Oakland Cemetery, Keokuk, Iowa.
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