Curtis Hooks Brogden, Governor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Hooks_Brogden

Curtis Hooks Brogden (November 6, 1816 – January 5, 1901) was the 42nd Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1874 to 1877. He succeeded to the position after the death of Governor Tod R. Caldwell, after having been elected as lieutenant governor representing the Republican Party.

Early life and education

He was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina, the son of a local farmer. Brogden joined the North Carolina state militia at the age of 18 and rose to the rank of major general.

Political career

First elected to the North Carolina House of Commons in 1838 as a Democrat, he served in the House for nearly 15 years, until 1851. In 1838, he was also elected Wayne County Justice of the Peace, a position he held for 20 consecutive years.

In 1852, Brogden rose to the North Carolina Senate, where he served until 1857. He was appointed as North Carolina Comptroller by the General Assembly.

Brogden briefly left the senate in 1867. During the span from 1867 to 1868, he represented Wayne County at a state constitutional convention and became affiliated with the Republican Party. He also was a member of the Electoral College supporting the Republican Ulysses S. Grant.

Brogden was returned to the North Carolina Senate in 1868 and served for four years. He was elected the second lieutenant governor on the Republican ticket with Tod R. Caldwell. When Gov. Caldwell died in office in 1874, Brogden succeeded to the position of governor. During his term in office, the state re-opened the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Brogden called for the establishment of a black college and a state penitentiary.

At the end of his term as governor, Brogden was elected in 1876 as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina's 2nd congressional district. He served only one term (1877–1879).

He essentially retired from public life (with the exception of a single term, in 1887, representing Wayne County in the North Carolina House of Representatives.

Brogden died in his hometown of Goldsboro in 1901 and is buried there.

https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/brogden-curtis-hooks