Stephen P. Hempstead
| Stephen P. Hempstead | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 2nd Governor of Iowa | |
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In office December 4, 1850 – December 9, 1854 |
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| Preceded by | Ansel Briggs |
| Succeeded by | James W. Grimes |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 1, 1812 New London, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | February 16, 1883 (aged 70) Dubuque, Iowa, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Lavinia Moore Lackland |
Stephen P. Hempstead (October 1, 1812 – February 16, 1883) was the second Governor of Iowa. A Democrat, he served from 1850 to 1854.
Hempstead moved to the Iowa territory, and was active in politics in the years leading up to Iowa's gaining statehood. Hempstead represented the northern parts of Iowa in the Territorial Legislature at Burlington, Iowa.
Hempstead represented Dubuque County in the Iowa constitutional convention in 1846. Hempstead was subsequently elected as governor in 1850. In 1851, he helped write the laws which would form the basis of the Iowa code.
After his term as governor was finished, Hempstead was elected as a judge in Dubuque County. He held this position for 12 years, from 1855 to 1867. Hempstead died on February 16, 1883 in Dubuque, Iowa, where he was interred in Linwood Cemetery. In the late 1960s, the city of Dubuque, Iowa honored Hempstead by naming its second public high school after him.
Hempstead was born on October 1, 1812, in New London, Connecticut. He is the eighth son of Joseph and Celinda Hempstead. At the age of thirteen, Stephen Hempstead's family moved to St. Louis and settled a farm. After discovering his dislike of farm life, Hempstead left the farm in 1830 to work in a store in Illinois. Soon after, Stephen was enlisted in the Black Hawk War, where he served in the artillery company until the conflict was resolved.
After the war, Hempstead studied law in Jacksonville. In 1836, he was admitted to the bar, and soon became the first practicing lawyer in Dubuque. In 1837, Hempstead married a woman from Baltimore named Lavinia Moore Lackland, and together they had three sons and three daughters.
Hempstead was elected to the Legislative Council of the First Legislative Assembly of Territorial Iowa. During this first assembly, Hempstead suggested that Iowa's government be located in Johnson county, where Iowa City currently is. In the second assembly, Hempstead is elected to lead the Legislative council as president. He continued to head the Legislative Council until 1848, where Hempstead was elected as one of the three commissioners in charge of revising Iowa's laws. These revisions were accepted into Iowa's law in 1851.
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