Back to former South Dakota governors
Charles Henry Sheldon
South Dakota

Gov. Charles Henry Sheldon

  • January 3, 1893 - January 1, 1897
  • Republican
  • September 12, 1840
  • October 20, 1898
  • Vermont
  • Married twice--Mary Walters (died 1874), two children; Martha Frizell, three children
  • Army

About

CHARLES HENRY SHELDON was born in Johnson, Vermont. After attending Lamoille County School, he served as a Captain in the 7th Vermont Infantry during the Civil War. He moved west in 1882, settling first in southern Illinois and later in Dakota Territory. He became a member of the Dakota Territorial Council in 1886. The second governor of the new state of South Dakota, Sheldon served during the Panic of 1893 and the depression that followed. He died one year after leaving office.

Source

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 4. Westport, CT: Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.

The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Vol. 13. New York: James T. White & Company.

South Dakota State Historical Society

Recent South Dakota Governors