Alonzo Garcelon

Alonzo Garcelon
Alonzo Garcelon
36th Governor of Maine
	In office; January 8, 1879 – January 17, 1880
Preceded by	Seldon Connor
Succeeded by	Daniel F. Davis
Member of the Maine Senate
	In office; 1855–1856
Member of the Maine House of Representatives
	In office; 1853–1854; 1857–1858
Personal details
Born	May 6, 1813; Lewiston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	December 8, 1906 (aged 93); Medford, Massachusetts, U.S.
Resting place	Riverside Cemetery; Lewiston, Maine, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Other political; affiliations	Whig, Free Soiler, Republican
Alma mater	Bowdoin College; Medical University of Ohio
Profession	Physician
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America; Union
Branch/service	United States Army; Union Army
Years of service	1861–1865
Rank	Surgeon General
Battles/wars	American Civil War

Alonzo Garcelon (May 6, 1813 – December 8, 1906) was the 36th Governor of Maine, and a surgeon general of Maine during the American Civil War.

Early life and education

Garcelon was born in Lewiston (in modern-day Maine, then a part of Massachusetts), to French Huguenot parents. Garcelon attended Monmouth Academy, Waterville Academy, and New Castle Academy. Garcelon taught school during the winter terms to help pay for his tuition. In 1836 Garcelon graduated from Bowdoin College, and in 1839 he graduated from the Medical University of Ohio, which was the Medical College of Ohio at the time, and then returned to Lewiston to practice. Garcelon co-founded the Lewiston Journal in 1847. He served in the Maine House of Representatives from 1853–54, 1857–58, and in the Maine Senate from 1855-56. Garcelon donated to Bates College to Lewiston in 1855 and served as an instructor and trustee at the College. His son, Alonzo Marston Garcelon, graduated from Bates in 1872 and went on to serve as Mayor of Lewiston from 1883 to 1884.[1] He was elected as a Delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1856. Garcelon's medical partner, Dr. Edward H. Hill, founded Central Maine Medical Center.

Civil War

During the Civil War, Garcelon served in the Union Army as a Maine surgeon general. During the impeachment of Andrew Johnson after the War, Garcelon became disgusted with the Republican Party and their policy of "Radical Reconstruction" and became a Democrat. In 1871 he was elected mayor of Lewiston, and in 1879 he was elected Governor of Maine by the legislature, serving one term until 1880.

During his term as governor, Garcelon oversaw the "Greenback" controversy, when he investigated alleged voter fraud and determined that the Democrats and not the Republicans had won a majority in the legislature. Senator James Blaine came to Augusta with a hundred armed men to protest the results, and Garcelon called out the state militia. Civil war was narrowly averted, thanks to the peaceful intervention of militia leader Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. In 1883 Garcelon was once again elected mayor of Lewiston.

Garcelon died in Medford, Massachusetts, and was buried at Riverside Cemetery in Lewiston, Maine.

Legacy and honors

Garcelon Field at Bates College is named after Dr. Garcelon, as is the Alonzo Garcelon Society, which provides scholarships to Bates for local students. In 2008 the Garcelon family announced the donation of a large collection of Garcelon family manuscripts to the Bates College Special Collections Library.[2]

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References

College, Bates (1915). General Catalogue of Bates College and Cobb Divinity School, 1863-1915. The College. p. 110. New Hampshire House of Representatives Bates College.
"BatesNow | 3/27/2008 | Archives to receive papers of family prominent in history of Bates, Maine". June 5, 2010. Archived from the original on June 5, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2018.

"Bio of Alonzo A. Gercelon, M.D." Representative Men of Maine: A Collection of Biographical Sketches,(Portland, ME: The Lakeside Press, 1893). (link)

External links

Party political offices
Preceded by Joseph H. Williams	Democratic nominee for Governor of Maine 1878, 1879	Succeeded by Harris M. Plaisted
Political offices
Preceded by Seldon Connor	Governor of Maine 1879–1880	Succeeded by Daniel F. Davis

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[:16-1] College, Bates (1915). General Catalogue of Bates College and Cobb Divinity School, 1863-1915. The College. p. 110. New Hampshire House of Representatives Bates College.

[2] "BatesNow | 3/27/2008 | Archives to receive papers of family prominent in history of Bates, Maine". June 5, 2010. Archived from the original on June 5, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2018.