Samuel Medary (February 25, 1801–November 7, 1864) Born and raised in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, he settled in Ohio in 1825. After a term in the Ohio legislature (1834) and state senate (1836-38) as a Jackson Democrat, he purchased a newspaper in Columbus that became the Ohio Statesman, which he edited until 1857. Active at the National Democratic Conventions at Baltimore in 1844, where he was instrumental in the nomination of James K. Polk; and at Cincinnati in 1856, where he was the President pro tem. President James Buchanan appointed him as the 3rd Territorial Governor of Minnesota from April 23, 1857 to May 24, 1858. Minnesota became a state on May 11, 1858 and elected Henry Hastings Sibley.

Samuel Medary was also Governor of Kansas Territory from December, 1858 to December,1860. William F. Wheeler was territory Librarian and the Governor's Secretary while in office.

Returning to Ohio, he established a newspaper he named The Crisis. Medary was indicted by a federal grand jury in 1864 for conspiracy against the government and was arrested. He was released on bonds, but died in Columbus, Ohio before he could be tried.

1801 births | 1864 deaths | Governors of Minnesota | Kansas politicians