Indiana
Gov. Ratliff Boon
- September 12, 1822 - December 5, 1822
- Democratic-Republican
- January 18, 1781
- November 20, 1844
- North Carolina
- Married Deliah Anderson; eight children
- Succeeded
- Representative
About
RATCLIFF BOON, Indiana’s second governor, was born in Franklin County, North Carolina, on January 18, 1781. His education was limited and attained in the common schools of Danville, Kentucky. After learning the gunsmith trade in Kentucky, Boon migrated to Indiana in 1809. He entered politics in 1813, serving as Warrick County’s first treasurer. He also served as a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from 1816 to 1817, was a member of the Indiana State Senate in 1818, and won election to Indiana’s lieutenant governor’s office in 1818. On September 12, 1822, Governor Jonathan Jennings resigned from office, and Boon, who was lieutenant governor at the time, assumed the duties of the governorship. He served in this capacity until December 5, 1822. In August 1822, Boon won reelection to the lieutenant governor’s office and served until January 30, 1824, when he resigned to run for Congress. He was elected, and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1825 to 1827 and again from 1829 to 1839. After running unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1836, Boon moved to Missouri, where he continued to stay active in public service. Governor Ratliff Boon died on November 20, 1844, and was buried at the Riverview Cemetery in Louisiana, Missouri.
Source
Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 1, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.
