Other states besides California have had governors who were not born in the United States, even a few whose native tongue was German. My own state of Nevada has had three foreign-born governors, one a German named Reinhold Sadler (1896-1902). Sadler came to Nevada from his native Prussia (Preußen) in the 1870s, when Otto von Bismarck was in power. Sadler met his German-born wife in the mining town of Hamilton, Nevada, now a ghost town. In 1902, the businessman and former governor died in Eureka, Nevada.
Other states have also had German-born governors. Illinois had one of the most notable, John Peter Altgeld, born in Germany in 1847. Altgeld's family arrived in New York City aboard the Burgundy in 1848, later settling in Ohio. But he gained notoriety, and later admiration, as the governor of Illinois (1893-1897), when in 1893 he granted pardons to participants in the Haymarket riots of 1886, in which seven policemen were killed. As a champion of workers' and women's rights, Altgeld was often attacked for his actions, especially when he protested President Cleveland's use of federal troops to put down the 1894 Pullman strikes.
Georgia's first constitutional governor was a "Salzburger" named John Adam Treutlen (1734-1782). But the term Salzburger is misleading. Treutlen was born in Kürnbach, a small town in what is now Baden-Württemberg, Germany. He arrived in Georgia in 1746, only 12 years old. Treutlen served as governor for only 9 months (1777-78). A Georgia county bears his name.
Utah's governor from 1917 to 1921 was a German Jew born in Eberstadt, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany. Simon Bamberger, Utah's fourth governor, holds several unique distinctions. He was Utah's first Democratic governor, the state's first non-Mormon governor, and the oldest (71) officeholder when he became governor. Bamberger was only the second Jew to be elected governor of any U.S. state. Hardly a typical German, Bamberger turned out to be a strong supporter of Prohibition!
There were two German-born Salomon cousins who served as governor in two different states. Edward Selig Salomon (1836-1913), born in Schleswig-Holstein, came to America and settled in Chicago before 1860. Salomon served in the Union Army in the Civil War, attaining the rank of brigadier general. In 1869 President Grant appointed him governor of Washington Territory. (Washington became a state in 1889.) Salomon served as governor in the capital of Olympia from 1870 to 1872. He later moved to San Francisco, California.
Edward S. Salomon's cousin, Edward P. Salomon (1828-1909), was born near Halberstadt, Prussia. After studies at the University of Berlin, he came to Wisconsin in 1849. In 1855 Salomon was admitted to the Wisconsin bar and later became a member of the Wisconsin Board of Regents. He became lieutenant governor under Governor Harvey. After Harvey drowned in the Tennessee River, Salomon became the governor of Wisconsin during the Civil War era, from 1862 to 1864. Commenting on the new governor in 1862, the Milwaukee Sentinel wrote: "Mr. Salomon is a German by birth. He has, however, resided most of his life in this country, is a thorough master of our language, and as a successful and accomplished lawyer is fully conversant with American Institutions and modes of business." Salomon later moved to New York City, where he served as the Prussian consul. When his German wife fell ill and returned to Germany, Salomon soon followed. A decade after her death, he died in Frankfurt am Main.
Other U.S. state governors were born in Ireland, Mexico, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, England, and Canada. Mexican-born Raul Castro was Arizona's governor from 1975 to 1977 (two-year terms until Bruce Babbit) and he also served at various times as U.S. ambassador to Argentina, Colombia, and El Salvador. The current governor of Michigan is Jennifer Granholm, a native of Canada, elected Michigan's first female governor in 2002.
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