13 Facts About Coles Bashford

Coles Bashford was an American lawyer and politician who became the fifth governor of Wisconsin, and one of the founders of the US Republican Party.

Coles Bashford attended the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary in Lima, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1842.

Coles Bashford served as the District Attorney of Wayne County from 1847 until he resigned in 1850 and moved to Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Coles Bashford served in the Wisconsin State Senate in 1853 and 1854 as a Whig, representing Winnebago County.

However, Coles Bashford claimed the result was fraudulent, and it was later discovered that Barstow's win was due to forged election returns coming from non-existent precincts in the sparsely populated northern part of the state, in addition to other irregularities such as two separate canvassing boards claiming legitimacy in Waupaca County.

Coles Bashford declined renomination from the Republican Party and left office at the end of his term on January 4,1858.

Coles Bashford himself had received the largest payoff in the form of $50,000 in stocks and $15,000 in cash from the railroad company; state legislators and a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice were involved in payoffs exceeding $400,000 in total.

Coles Bashford managed to cash in his stock before the railroad company folded as a result of the investigation, and fled the state.

Coles Bashford traveled first to Washington, DC, in 1862, and then left for the Arizona Territory, in 1863, with his brother, Levi, who was to be Surveyor General of the newly created territory.

Coles Bashford's position required him to journey throughout the Territory, frequently travelling through land considered "hostile Indian country", but he executed these duties without incident.

Coles Bashford was elected President of the first Territorial Council in 1864 and served from 1867 until 1869 as a territorial delegate to the 40th United States Congress as an independent, rather than with his former party.

The last political office Bashford held was Secretary of State for the Arizona Territory, by appointment from US President Ulysses S Grant in 1869, and again in 1873.

Coles Bashford was buried in Mountain View Cemetery, in Oakland, California.