25 U.S. Governors From Other States Who Were Born in New York

Aerial view of the New York State Capitol and downtown Albany, New York. Photo by Sandra Foyt / Shutterstock.com.

New York-born politicians played important roles in the governments of many states beyond New York during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Some left the state as children, while others moved west after studying law, working in business, or serving in the military. Their careers connected New York communities from Albany County and the Finger Lakes to the Hudson Valley and North Country with the political development of states across the Midwest and West.

Every person on this list was born in New York State and later served as governor of another state. Together they governed California, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, and Wisconsin.

1. Leland Stanford – California

• New York Birthplace: Born in Watervliet, Albany County, on March 9, 1824.
• Governorship: Governor of California from 1862 to 1863.
• Career and Governorship: Stanford studied law in New York before moving west. He became president of the Central Pacific Railroad and participated in the 1869 ceremony marking completion of the first transcontinental railroad. He and his wife, Jane Stanford, later founded Stanford University in memory of their son.

2. Henry Huntly Haight – California

• New York Birthplace: Born in Rochester, Monroe County, on May 20, 1825.
• Governorship: Governor of California from 1867 to 1871.
• Career and Governorship: Haight graduated from Yale, practiced law, and eventually settled in San Francisco. During his governorship, California established the State Board of Health and the University of California.

3. George Stoneman – California

• New York Birthplace: Born in Busti, Chautauqua County, on August 8, 1822.
• Governorship: Governor of California from 1883 to 1887.
• Career and Governorship: Stoneman graduated from West Point and served in both the Mexican-American War and the Civil War, rising to major general in the Union Army. In California he served on the Railroad Commission before being elected governor.

4. Robert Waterman – California

• New York Birthplace: Born in Fairfield, Herkimer County, on December 15, 1826.
• Governorship: Governor of California from 1887 to 1891.
• Career and Governorship: Waterman traveled to California during the Gold Rush, later returned to the state, and became involved in ranching and silver mining. The Mojave Desert settlement that became Barstow was once known as Waterman Junction because of his mining activity in the area. He became governor after the death of Washington Bartlett.

5. Norman B. Willey – Idaho

• New York Birthplace: Born in Guilford, Chenango County, on March 25, 1838.
• Governorship: Governor of Idaho from December 1890 to January 1893.
• Career and Governorship: Willey was educated at the Delaware Literary Institute in Franklin, New York, before heading west. He became involved in mining and territorial politics in Idaho and succeeded Governor George L. Shoup after Shoup left office to enter the U.S. Senate.

6. John Wood – Illinois

• New York Birthplace: Born in Moravia, Cayuga County, on December 20, 1798.
• Governorship: Governor of Illinois from 1860 to 1861.
• Career and Governorship: Wood moved west as a young man and became one of the founders of Quincy, Illinois. After serving as lieutenant governor, he succeeded William Henry Bissell following Bissell’s death and helped organize Illinois military preparations as the Civil War approached.

7. John Lourie Beveridge – Illinois

• New York Birthplace: Born in Greenwich, Washington County, on July 6, 1824.
• Governorship: Governor of Illinois from 1873 to 1877.
• Career and Governorship: Beveridge moved to Illinois as a young man, practiced law, and served in the Union Army during the Civil War. He became lieutenant governor in 1873 and succeeded Richard J. Oglesby when Oglesby resigned to enter the U.S. Senate.

8. William M. Stone – Iowa

• New York Birthplace: Born in Jefferson County on October 14, 1827.
• Governorship: Governor of Iowa from 1864 to 1868.
• Career and Governorship: Stone moved from New York to Ohio as a child and later settled in Iowa, where he practiced law and published a newspaper. He served in the Union Army during the Civil War before winning election as governor.

9. John H. Gear – Iowa

• New York Birthplace: Born in Ithaca, Tompkins County, on April 7, 1825.
• Governorship: Governor of Iowa from 1878 to 1882.
• Career and Governorship: Gear moved to Burlington, Iowa, and built a successful mercantile career before entering politics. He served as mayor of Burlington, speaker of the Iowa House, governor, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and later a U.S. senator.

10. Buren R. Sherman – Iowa

• New York Birthplace: Born in Phelps, Ontario County, on May 28, 1836.
• Governorship: Governor of Iowa from 1882 to 1886.
• Career and Governorship: Sherman spent his youth in New York before moving to Iowa in 1855. He served in the Union Army, practiced law, held county office, and served as state auditor before winning two gubernatorial terms.

11. Kinsley S. Bingham – Michigan

• New York Birthplace: Born in Camillus, Onondaga County, on December 16, 1808.
• Governorship: Governor of Michigan from 1855 to 1859.
• Career and Governorship: Bingham studied law in Syracuse before moving to Michigan. He served in the Michigan legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives before becoming Michigan’s first Republican governor. He later served in the U.S. Senate.

12. Moses Wisner – Michigan

• New York Birthplace: Born in the Springport area of Cayuga County on June 3, 1815.
• Governorship: Governor of Michigan from 1859 to 1861.
• Career and Governorship: Wisner grew up in central New York before moving to Michigan in 1837. He practiced law, became active in the Republican Party, and served one term as governor. During the Civil War he organized the 22nd Michigan Infantry and died of typhoid fever while in military service.

13. Austin Blair – Michigan

• New York Birthplace: Born in Caroline, Tompkins County, on February 8, 1818.
• Governorship: Governor of Michigan from 1861 to 1865.
• Career and Governorship: Blair attended Hamilton College and graduated from Union College before studying law and moving to Michigan. As governor during the Civil War, he oversaw Michigan’s mobilization for the Union war effort and supported emancipation.

14. John J. Bagley – Michigan

• New York Birthplace: Born in Medina, Orleans County, on July 24, 1832.
• Governorship: Governor of Michigan from 1873 to 1877.
• Career and Governorship: Bagley spent part of his childhood in western New York before moving to Michigan. He built a successful tobacco business in Detroit, participated in the early Michigan Republican Party, and as governor supported the creation of the state Board of Health and other administrative reforms.

15. Charles M. Croswell – Michigan

• New York Birthplace: Born in Newburgh, Orange County, on October 31, 1825.
• Governorship: Governor of Michigan from 1877 to 1881.
• Career and Governorship: Orphaned as a child, Croswell moved from New York to Michigan to live with an uncle. He worked as a carpenter, studied law, and held a series of local and state offices before serving two terms as governor.

16. David H. Jerome – Michigan

• New York Birthplace: Born in Throopsville, Cayuga County, on November 17, 1829.
• Governorship: Governor of Michigan from 1881 to 1883.
• Career and Governorship: Jerome spent his early years in central New York before moving to Michigan. He became involved in lumber, railroads, and state politics and served as governor during the destructive Thumb Fire of 1881.

17. Josiah Begole – Michigan

• New York Birthplace: Born in Groveland, Livingston County, on January 20, 1815.
• Governorship: Governor of Michigan from 1883 to 1885.
• Career and Governorship: Begole attended schools in Mount Morris and Geneseo before moving to Flint, Michigan. He worked in farming, lumber, banking, and public office and later served in Congress before becoming governor.

18. Cushman Kellogg Davis – Minnesota

• New York Birthplace: Born in Henderson, Jefferson County, on June 16, 1838.
• Governorship: Governor of Minnesota from 1874 to 1876.
• Career and Governorship: Davis left New York as an infant and later studied at the University of Michigan. He served in the Union Army, practiced law in Minnesota, and became governor before serving for many years in the U.S. Senate.

19. Lorenzo Crounse – Nebraska

• New York Birthplace: Born in Sharon, Schoharie County, on January 27, 1834.
• Governorship: Governor of Nebraska from 1893 to 1895.
• Career and Governorship: Crounse taught school and studied law in New York before serving as a Union artillery officer in the Civil War. He moved to Nebraska Territory in 1864, served in territorial and state offices, represented Nebraska in Congress, and later became governor.

20. Charles C. Stevenson – Nevada

• New York Birthplace: Born in Ontario County on February 20, 1826.
• Governorship: Governor of Nevada from 1887 until his death in 1890.
• Career and Governorship: Stevenson moved west and settled in Nevada in 1859, working as a farmer, miner, and miller. He served repeatedly in the Nevada State Senate and on the University of Nevada Board of Regents before winning the governorship in 1886.

21. Andrew H. Burke – North Dakota

• New York Birthplace: Born in New York City on May 15, 1850.
• Governorship: Governor of North Dakota from 1891 to 1893.
• Career and Governorship: Orphaned as a child, Burke became a ward of the New York Children’s Aid Society and was sent to Indiana. He later served in the Civil War, moved to Dakota Territory, worked in banking, and became North Dakota’s second governor.

22. Sylvester Pennoyer – Oregon

• New York Birthplace: Born in Groton, Tompkins County, on July 6, 1831.
• Governorship: Governor of Oregon from 1887 to 1895.
• Career and Governorship: Pennoyer attended Harvard Law School and moved to Oregon in 1855. He worked in education, lumber, manufacturing, and newspaper publishing before serving two terms as governor and later as mayor of Portland.

23. Leonard J. Farwell – Wisconsin

• New York Birthplace: Born in Watertown, Jefferson County, on January 5, 1819.
• Governorship: Governor of Wisconsin from 1852 to 1854.
• Career and Governorship: Farwell left New York as a young man and eventually settled in Wisconsin, where he became a major Madison landowner and businessman. As governor he supported banking reform, a separate state Supreme Court, and the development of public institutions.

24. Coles Bashford – Wisconsin

• New York Birthplace: Born near Cold Spring, Putnam County, on January 24, 1816.
• Governorship: Governor of Wisconsin from 1856 to 1858.
• Career and Governorship: Bashford practiced law and served as district attorney in Wayne County, New York, before moving to Wisconsin. He became governor after challenging the reported result of the 1855 election, with the Wisconsin Supreme Court determining that fraudulent returns had been counted for incumbent William A. Barstow.

25. Alexander W. Randall – Wisconsin

• New York Birthplace: Born in Ames, Montgomery County, on October 31, 1819.
• Governorship: Governor of Wisconsin from 1858 to 1862.
• Career and Governorship: Randall studied law in New York before moving to Wisconsin. As governor at the beginning of the Civil War, he oversaw the organization of Wisconsin troops at Camp Randall in Madison. He later served as U.S. Postmaster General.

Quick Reference: 25 Governors Born in New York Who Led Other States

Readers interested in more New York political history can continue with 15 New York Governors Who Ran for President of the United States, 5 U.S. Presidents Born in New York, and 14 Historic U.S. Supreme Court Justices Born in New York.