Daniel Dunklin traveled an unlikely political path to the governor's office and with only 3 months left in his term, he resigned. Born January 14, 1790 in South Carolina. His family moved to Kentucky after his father's death. In 1810 the family emigrated to Ste. Genevieve and finally to farm near Potosi.
Dunklin served under General Henry Dodge during the War of 1812 and later appointed Washington County sheriff. In 1815, he married his childhood sweetheart from Kentucky. He and his wife, Emily Haley, operated a tavern at Potosi. It was at this tavern where Dunklin's political career began. In July 1822, a group of local political leaders were deadlocked in nominating a candidate for state representative. Eventually someone suggested Dunklin and the group nominated him.
Dunklin was elected and served his general assembly term; returning to Potosi and his tavern. In 1828 he was elected Missouri's third lieutenant governor - an office that had been vacant since Benjamin Harrison Reeve's July 1825 resignation. Dunklin served the 4-year term as lieutenant governor and was elected governor in 1832. In September 1836, Dunklin resigned three months before his term ended to accept federal appointment as Surveyor General of Illinois and Missouri.
Sources
- Missouri Secretary of State. “Governors.” Accessed January 10, 2011. http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/history/historicallistings/governors.asp.
- Missouri Secretary of State. “Lieutenant Governors.” Accessed January 10, 2011. http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/history/historicallistings/ltgov.asp.
- Missouri Secretary of State. “Missouri State Legislators.” Accessed January 10, 2011. http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/history/historicallistings/molegd.asp.
- Shoemaker, Floyd Calvin. Missouri Day by Day, Volume 1. Columbia, MO: State Historical Society of Missouri, 1942.
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