Anson Peacely-Killen Safford, 1869-1877

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CreatorBesser, WilliamBrowse TopicArt and Creative WorksGovernment and PoliticsSubjectSafford, A. P. K. (Anson Peasley Keeler), -1891Governors--Arizona--Pictorial worksDescriptionAnson Peaceley-Killen Safford was born on February 14, 1828 or 1830 in Hyde Park, Vermont to Joseph Warren and Diantha P. (Little) Safford. The family moved to Illinois to farm when he was a boy. Safford went to California in March 1850 as part of the California Gold Rush. Safford was elected to the California State Assembly as a Democrat in 1857 and 1859. With the outbreak of the Civil War, he changed his political allegiance to the Union and later the Republican Party. In 1862 he moved to Nevada, where he would serve as County Commissioner, Mining Recorder and County Recorder for Humboldt County. Safford was Secretary of the Nevada Constitutional Convention in November 1863, President of Nevada's first Republican State Convention, and appointed Surveyor-General of Nevada by President Andrew Johnson. A.P.K. Safford was nominated as Governor of the Arizona Territory on April 3, 1869 by President Ulysses S. Grant. He was commissioned April 9, 1869, and sworn into office on July 9, 1869. His second term began in April 1873. When Safford took office he faced an Arizona Territory that was bordering on lawlessness with hostile Native Americans, outlaws, and indolent soldiers. Efforts to combat lawlessness included the creation of a volunteer militia, replacing the head of the Army in Arizona, petitioning the Territorial Legislature to make highway robbery a capital offense, and the building of a territorial prison. Safford also had a profound effect on the state’s educational system. Though he had limited formal education, he read and traveled widely. At the time most citizens considered defense and economic development of paramount importance. Safford convinced them that education was just as vital. He used personal persuasion, political bargaining, and financial astuteness to establish a primary-school system throughout the Territory. Tucson was the capitol during Safford’s administration, which was the longest of any Territorial Governor. He was known affectionately as the “Little Governor” due to his short stature. Safford married Jennie L. Tracy in Tucson, Arizona on July 24, 1869. They soon became estranged. The marriage ended when Arizona's Territorial Legislature passed a bill granting a divorce to the couple, which Safford signing into law in January 1873. He married again to Margarita Grijalva on December 12, 1878, who died in 1880. Safford married for the third time to Soledad Bonillas on September 10, 1881. After leaving office on April 5, 1877, Safford opened one of Arizona's first banks and served as President of the Tombstone Gold and Silver Milling and Mining Company. Stafford was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1880 and was appointed by the President as an official of the World’s Fair at New York in 1883. When he left Arizona, Safford founded the town of Tarpon Springs, Florida, where he died on December 15, 1891. Sources for content above: Jay Wagner, Territorial Governors, 1863-1912 (Phoenix, AZ: R. E. McCullar, 1963). John S. Goff, Arizona Territorial Officials, vol. 2, The Governors, 1863-1912 (Cave Creek, AZ: Black Mountain Press, 1975). Date Original1913Date Range1910s (1910-1919)TypeStill ImageOriginal FormatPaintings (visual works)Contributing InstitutionArizona Capitol MuseumCollectionTerritorial Governor Portraits by William BesserRights StatementIn Copyright http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ Copyright and/or publication rights for all images in this collection are retained by this institution. Contact the Arizona Capitol Museum at 602-926-3620 or http://www.azlibrary.gov/museum for further information.

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Acquisition NoteReference photograph date and creator unknownCall Number1982.018.003|2000.007.005IdentifierSafford_Portrait.jpgDigital FormatJPEG

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Reference URLhttp://cdm17220.contentdm.oclc.org/.....f/collection/acmterr/id/5

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Anson Peacely-Killen Safford, 1869-1877

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