Gilbert A. Pierce Biography


	This biography appears on page 767 in "History of South 
	Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. I (1904) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

	This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit 
	organizations for their private use. 

	Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval 
	system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other 
	means requires the written approval of the file's author.

	This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here 
	Inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door 
	is at

	http://www.usgwarchives.net/sd/sdfiles.htm


	GILBERT A. PIERCE, eighth territorial governor of Dakota, was a 
native of Cattaraugus county, New York, but removed to Indiana at an 
early age. He was a graduate of the Chicago University Law School. He 
enlisted in 1861 and served throughout the war of the Rebellion and 
rose to the rank of colonel. He was a member of the Indiana legislature 
in 1868 and was one of the founders and managing editor of the Inter-
Ocean for twelve years. He was an author of several popular novels. 
President Arthur appointed him governor of Dakota in 1884 and he 
resigned the position in 1886. The first legislature of North Dakota 
elected him to the United states senate. In 1891 he purchased a half 
interest in the Minneapolis Tribune, but a year later his health 
failed. President Harrison appointed him minister to Portugal. He did 
not recover his health and returning to this country spent some time in 
California. He died in 1901.