John Green Brady | |
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| 5th Governor ofDistrict of Alaska | |
| In office July 15, 1897 – March 2, 1906 | |
| Nominated by | William McKinley |
| Preceded by | James Sheakley |
| Succeeded by | Wilford Bacon Hoggatt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1847-05-25)May 25, 1847 New York City |
| Died | December 17, 1918(1918-12-17) (aged 71) Sitka,Territory of Alaska |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Jane Patton |
John (James) Green Brady (June 15, 1848 – December 17, 1918)[1] was an American politician who served as theGovernor of theDistrict of Alaska from 1897 to 1906. Brady was forced to resign due to his alleged involvement with the fraudulent Reynolds–Alaska Development Company.[2]
John Green Brady was born inNew York City. Upon the death of his mother, his father remarried. Brady did not get along well with his step-mother, and at the age of eight ran away from home to avoid beatings from his drunken father.[3] He was found living on the streets of New York City byTheodore Roosevelt, Sr. a well-known and popular New York City philanthropist and the father of future US 26th President,Theodore Roosevelt. Many years later, as an adult, Brady would approach the younger Theodore Roosevelt, then governor of New York, at a 1900 conference inPortland,Oregon. He warmly shook Roosevelt's hand and told him:
"Governor Roosevelt, the other governors have greeted you with interest, simply as a fellow governor and a great American. but I greet you with infinitely more interest, as the son of your father, the firstTheodore Roosevelt." When greeted warmly by Governor Roosevelt and asked why and in what special way he had been interested in his father, Governor Brady replied, "Your father picked me up on the streets of New York, a waif and an orphan, and sent me to a Western family, paying for my transportation and early care. Years passed and I was able to repay the money which had given me my start in life, but I can never repay what he did for me, for it was through that early care and by giving me such a foster mother and father that I gradually rose in the world until I greet his son as a fellow governor of a part of our great country."
Brady was living at theHouse of Refuge onRandall's Island when he learned about theOrphan Train. The eleven-year-old Brady declared himself to be an orphan and, on August 2, 1859, boarded a train bound for Indiana. Over the course of the week-long journey, Brady forged what would be a lifelong friendship withAndrew Burke, another boy his age from Randall's. The boys got off the train atNoblesville, Indiana, where they were taken to "Aunt" Jenny Fergusson's hotel, fed and, in turn, put on display for prospective adopters.[3]
Brady's experience as an orphan train rider is discussed in the bookOrphan Trains: Taking the Rails to a New Life, byRebecca Langston-George.
Brady went to live with the family ofJohn Green, ofTipton County, Indiana. Judge John Green recalled, "I decided to take John Brady home with me because I considered him the homeliest, toughest, most unpromising boy in the whole lot. I had a curious desire to see what could be made of such a specimen of humanity."[3] Brady attendedYale University and graduated in 1874.
Brady married Elizabeth Jane Patton in 1887 inSitka, Alaska. They had five children: John Green Brady Jr., Hugh P. Brady, Sheldon Jackson Brady, Mary Beattie Brady and Elizabeth P. Brady.
Brady moved to theAlaska Territory first as a Presbyterian minister, then a missionary and then a lawyer. In 1878 he co-founded what is nowSheldon Jackson College as a school to trainAlaska Natives.
Later he would be appointed Governor for three terms. He was introduced to the infamous Alaskan gangsterSoapy Smith during the 1898 Fourth of July festivities inSkagway. Brady was made aware of Smith's criminal activities and offered him a position as a Deputy U.S. Marshal in Sitka, if he would quit Skagway. Smith turned down the position, which Brady noted in a personal letter. Four days after meeting him, Smith was killed in the famedShootout on Juneau Wharf.
Governor Brady had an interest in preserving the culture of the Alaska natives. He orchestrated the placement of 15Haida andTlingit totem poles and two traditional houses for the 1904Louisiana Purchase Exposition.[4] He was instrumental in the preservation and relocation of the totem poles from OldKasaan village to Sitka shortly after Old Kasaan's abandonment.[5]
In 1897, Brady was appointed to be Governor of the Territory of Alaska by Republican PresidentWilliam McKinley. He served for three terms and became involved in the Reynolds-Alaska Development Company which was under investigation for corruption. U.S. Secretary of the InteriorEthan A. Hitchcock (Interior) (R) under Republican PresidentTheodore Roosevelt, charged that Brady had acted improperly in his association with Reynolds-Alaska and public clamor soon led Brady to resign though he vigorously denied that he was guilty of any wrongdoing. Without charges, Brady was asked to resign in 1906 and went to work for Reynolds-Alaska. He was never convicted.[6][7]
Brady died on December 17, 1918, and was buried inSitka National Cemetery in Sitka, Alaska. He was interred in Section R, Plot 4 in December 1918. The monument at his grave bears the inscription: "A life ruled by faith in God and Man."
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| Preceded by | District Governor of Alaska 1897–1906 | Succeeded by |
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