Josiah Williams Begole (January 20, 1815 – June 5, 1896) was an American politician serving as a U.S. Representative from 1873 to 1875 and the 19th governor of Michigan from 1883 to 1885.

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Quick Facts 19th Governor of Michigan, Lieutenant ...

Josiah Begole
19th Governor of Michigan
In office January 1, 1883 – January 1, 1885
Lieutenant	Moreau S. Crosby
Preceded by	David Jerome
Succeeded by	Russell A. Alger
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 6th district
In office March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1875
Preceded by	Jabez G. Sutherland
Succeeded by	George H. Durand
Member of the Michigan Senate from the 23rd district
In office 1870–1871
Preceded by	Thaddeus G. Smith
Succeeded by	Ira H. Butterfield
Personal details
Born	January 20, 1815 Groveland, New York
Died	June 5, 1896 (aged 81) Flint, Michigan
Political party	Republican; Democrat
Spouse	Harriet A. Miles

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Begole was born in Groveland, New York. His ancestors were French Huguenots who emigrated to the United States in the last quarter of the 18th century to escape religious persecution and settled in Hagerstown, Maryland. Josiah's father, William (1788–1862) was born there and moved to Livingston County, New York in 1802. William served in the War of 1812 and married the daughter of an American Revolutionary War veteran. Three of Williams sons, including Josiah, the eldest, eventually moved to Genesee County, Michigan. He attended the public schools in Mount Morris and Temple Hill Academy in Geneseo, New York.

Begole moved to Flint, Michigan in August 1836 and taught school in 1837 and 1838. In the spring of 1839, he married Harriet A. Miles. He engaged in agricultural pursuits from 1839 to 1856 and was school inspector, justice of the peace and township treasurer. Being an anti-slavery man, he became a member of the Republican party at its organization. He was county treasurer 1856–1864. He was briefly engaged in the lumber business in 1863. His eldest son was killed during the American Civil War near Atlanta, Georgia in 1864, and was the greatest sorrow of his life.

He was a member of the Michigan Senate in 1870 and 1871, and a member of the Flint City Council for three years. During that time, he served on the Committees of Finance and Railroads, and was Chairman of the Committee on the Institute for the Deaf and Dumb and Blind. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention at Philadelphia in 1872 to re-nominate U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and to nominate Henry Wilson as the new Vice President.

Begole was elected as a Republican from Michigan's 6th congressional district to the United States House of Representatives for the 43rd Congress, serving from March 4, 1873, to March 3, 1875. During that time, he was a member of the Committee on Agricultural and Public Expenditures. He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1874 and resumed the lumber business, Begole Fox & Co. He later engaged in the manufacture of wagons founding Flint Wagon Works and also engaged in banking.

In 1882, Begole was gubernatorial candidate of the Greenback and Democratic parties, defeating the Republican incumbent David Jerome by over 7,000 votes. He served one term from 1883 to 1885. As a former Republican who ousted a Republican incumbent, Begole faced many obstacles with a Republican-dominated legislature. As a result, the establishment of the state bureau of labor statistics was one of the few acts that was approved. He ran for re-election in 1884, but was defeated by Republican Russell Alger, after which he resumed his former business activities.

He was an early activist for women's suffrage, and in 1884 Begole became vice president of the first statewide suffrage organization, the Michigan Equal Suffrage Association.

Begole died at the age of eighty-one in Flint and is interred in Glenwood Cemetery there.

• United States Congress. "Josiah Begole (id: B000316)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• The Political Graveyard
• Begole's biography Archived July 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine from the public domain Portrait & Biographical Album of Ingham and Livingston Counties, Michigan, published Chicago: Chapman Bros., 1891
• National Governors Association