John Milton (Florida politician)
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John Milton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 5th Governor of Florida | |
| In office October 7, 1861 – April 1, 1865 | |
| Preceded by | Madison S. Perry |
| Succeeded by | Abraham K. Allison |
| Member of the Florida House of Representatives | |
| In office 1850 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 20, 1807 near Louisville, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | April 1, 1865 (aged 57) Marianna, Florida, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Susan Amanda Cobb Caroline Howze |
| Alma mater | University of Georgia |
| Profession | Lawyer |
John Milton (April 20, 1807 – April 1, 1865) was governor of Florida through most of the American Civil War. A lawyer who served in the Florida Legislature, he supported the secession of Florida from the Union and became governor in October 1861. In that post, he turned the state into a major supplier of food for the Confederacy. In his final message to the state legislature as the war was ending, he declared that death would be preferable to reunion with the North, and killed himself shortly thereafter.
Milton descended from a prominent Southern family and was a relative of the famed English poet of the same name.[citation needed]
He was the son of Homer Virgil Milton, an officer who fought in the War of 1812,[1] and the grandson of Revolutionary War veteran, United States presidential candidate of 1789, and former Georgia Secretary of State, John Milton.[2] Born near Louisville, Georgia, Milton graduated from the University of Georgia and later studied law.[3]
He married Susan Cobb in 1826,[3] and they had three children. Following Susan's death, Milton remarried Caroline Howze from Alabama in 1844; they had two sons and seven daughters.[4]
John and Caroline lived in Alabama and New Orleans,[5] before establishing a plantation worked by slave labor in Marianna, Jackson County, Florida in 1845.[3][6]
Milton's youngest son, Jefferson Davis Milton (1861–1947) moved to Texas, later Arizona.[7] He distinguished himself as a Texas Ranger, police chief of El Paso, and served for over 25 years as America's first border agent. William Hall Milton (1864–1942), grandson of the governor, was a U.S. Senator from Florida from 1908 to 1909.[7]
