Aaron T. Bliss | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 25th Governor of Michigan | |
| In office January 1, 1901 – January 1, 1905 | |
| Lieutenant | Orrin W. Robinson Alexander Maitland |
| Preceded by | Hazen S. Pingree |
| Succeeded by | Fred M. Warner |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMichigan's8th district | |
| In office March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891 | |
| Preceded by | Timothy E. Tarsney |
| Succeeded by | Henry M. Youmans |
| Member of theMichigan Senate from the25th district | |
| In office 1883–1884 | |
| Preceded by | Henry C. Russell |
| Succeeded by | George Davenport |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1837-05-22)May 22, 1837 Peterboro, New York, U.S. |
| Died | September 16, 1906(1906-09-16) (aged 69) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | Allaseba Phelps |
Aaron Thomas Bliss (May 22, 1837 – September 16, 1906) was an American politician who served as aU.S. Representative and the 25thgovernor of Michigan, and was fromSaginaw.Bliss Township was named after him.[1]
Bliss was born to Lyman and Anna M. (Chaffee) Bliss inPeterboro, New York and attended the common schools. He was employed as a clerk in a store inMorrisville, New York, in 1853 and 1854 and with the $100 he made there he attended a select school inMunnsville, New York, in 1854. The following year, Bliss moved to Bouckville, a small town inMadison County, New York, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits.
During theAmerican Civil War, Bliss enlisted as a private in the Peterman Guards of the Tenth New York Volunteer Cavalry, October 1, 1861, and reported for duty atElmira, New York. After a quick advancement to lieutenant, his regiment formed a part ofKilpatrick's Brigade and was ordered to the front, joining theArmy of the Potomac. He commanded a squadron from Washington, D.C. during theSecond Battle of Bull Run and his rank advanced tocaptain. He also fought in the battle ofFredericksburg,the Wilderness,Petersburg, Ground Squirrel Church,Stony Creek,South Mountain,Falls Church andWarrenton. Then he was captured on General Wilson's raid nearRichmond. For six months he was held at theConfederate prisons ofAndersonville, Georgia,Charleston, South Carolina,Macon, Georgia, andColumbia, South Carolina, where on November 29, 1864, like the man who would later precede him as governor,Hazen S. Pingree, Bliss escaped from a Confederate prison. He walked near three weeks until he reachedGeneral Sherman's army atSavannah, Georgia, just two days before its evacuation. Bliss soon rejoined his own command atPetersburg, Virginia, where he remained until the war ended.
In December 1865, he moved toSaginaw, Michigan and found employment at a shingle mill. With his brother, Lyman W. Bliss, and J. H. Jerome, he formed A. T. Bliss & Company and engaged in the manufacture oflumber and the exploitation of lands along the Tobacco River. On March 31, 1868, he married Allaseba Morey Phelps of Solsville, New York, north of the town ofMadison. That same spring the brothers bought the Jerome mill atZilwaukee, and it became A. T. Bliss & Brother. In 1880, Bliss was one of the organizers and a director of the Citizen's National Bank, which was reorganized into the Bank of Saginaw, and was president and director of the Saginaw County Savings Bank.
In 1882, Bliss was elected member of theMichigan Senate from Saginaw County (25th district), and during that time helped establish a soldiers' home inGrand Rapids. He was appointedaide-de-camp on the staff of GovernorRussell A. Alger in 1885, with the rank ofcolonel, and held the same position on the staff of the commander in chief of theGrand Army of the Republic in 1888.
In 1888, Bliss was elected as aRepublican fromMichigan's 8th congressional district to the51st Congress, serving from March 4, 1889, to March 3, 1891. Among notable bills he introduced were for appropriating $100,000 for a federal building in Saginaw and $25,000 for an Indian school at Mt. Pleasant. He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1890 to the52nd Congress, being defeated byDemocratHenry M. Youmans.
After leaving Congress, Bliss resumed the lumber business and also engaged in banking. He was department commander of the Grand Army of the Republic in Michigan in 1897.
In 1900, Bliss was electedGovernor of Michigan, defeatingmayor of DetroitWilliam C. Maybury, and was re-elected in 1902, serving from 1901 through 1904.[2] During his four years in office, the Michigan Employment Institution for the Adult Blind was established in Saginaw, a state highway department was formed, and railroad taxation was sanctioned.
Bliss was a patron of the Home for the Friendless, the Y.M.C.A., the Methodist Church and was also a member of theFreemasons andKnights Templar.
Bliss died less than two years after leaving office at the age of sixty-nine inMilwaukee, Wisconsin, while on a visit for medical treatment. He is interred in Forest Lawn Cemetery inSaginaw, Michigan.
Mills, James Cooke (2005) [1892]."s.v. Aaron T. Bliss".History of Saginaw County, Michigan. Saginaw, Mich.: Seemann & Peters. pp. 24–28. RetrievedMay 11, 2007.
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of Michigan 1900,1902 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | United States Representative for the 8th Congressional District of Michigan 1889–1891 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Michigan 1901–1905 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
