Joseph Wilson Fifer | |
|---|---|
 Fifer circa 1892 | |
| 19th Governor of Illinois | |
| In office January 14, 1889 – January 10, 1893 | |
| Lieutenant | Lyman Ray |
| Preceded by | Richard J. Oglesby |
| Succeeded by | John Peter Altgeld |
| Commissioner of theInterstate Commerce Commission | |
| In office November 14, 1899 – December 30, 1905 | |
| Preceded by | William J. Calhoun |
| Succeeded by | Franklin Knight Lane |
| Member of theIllinois Senate from the 28th district | |
| In office 1881–1885 | |
| Preceded by | John M. Hamilton |
| Succeeded by | LaFayette Funk |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 28, 1840 Staunton, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | August 6, 1938(1938-08-06) (aged 97) Bloomington, Illinois, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Signature |  |
Joseph Wilson Fifer (October 28, 1840 – August 6, 1938) was the 19thgovernor of Illinois, serving from 1889 to 1893. He also served as a member of theIllinois Senate from 1881 to 1883.[1]
Fifer was born atStaunton, Virginia on October 28, 1840. At the age of 16, in 1856, he moved with his family toDanvers, Illinois and worked in his father's brickyard for several years.
Fifer enlisted as a private in the33rd Illinois Infantry at the start of theCivil War and was severely wounded atJackson, Mississippi during General Grant'sVicksburg campaign. He refused a discharge and spent the rest of the war guarding a prison boat.
After the war, Fifer married Gertrude Lewis and had three children. The oldest child died in infancy, leaving Herman and Florence. He studied law atIllinois Wesleyan University and became the tax collector at Danvers Township. He served as the city attorney ofBloomington, Illinois and as a state's attorney as well.[2]
In 1880, he was elected to the state senate from the 28th district, where he served during the 32nd and 33rd General Assemblies. He was preceded byJohn Marshall Hamilton and succeeded byLaFayette Funk in office.[3]
His name was elevated to state level after fighting with GeneralJohn C. Black, the pension commissioner, when the latter tried to remove him as a "typical Republican politician who did not deserve a pension." Fifer's pension was $24 a month. Due to his celebrity status, Fifer was elected Governor of Illinois in 1889. One of his notable acts as governor was to commute the life sentence of murdererThomas Neill Cream, allowing his release, and freeing Cream to commit at least four more murders in London.[4][5]
Fifer lost a reelection bid, and then twice refused the nomination to run again for governor. He was appointed to theInterstate Commerce Commission by PresidentWilliam McKinley in 1899.[1]
Fifer was a delegate to the 1920 Illinois Constitutional Convention.[6] Governor Fifer lived to see his daughter,Florence Fifer Bohrer, elected as the first female state senator of Illinois in 1924.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of Illinois 1888,1892 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Illinois 1889–1893 | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Commissioner of theInterstate Commerce Commission 1899–1905 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
