John Eugene Osborne

John Eugene Osborne
3rd Governor of Wyoming
In office 1893 – 1895
Preceded by	Amos W. Barber
Succeeded by	William A. Richards
29th United States Assistant Secretary of State
In office April 21, 1913 – December 14, 1916
Preceded by	Huntington Wilson
Succeeded by	William Phillips
Born	June 19 1858(1858-06-19) Westport, New York, U.S.
Died	April 24 1943 (aged 84) Rawlins, Wyoming, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Selina Smith Osborne
Profession	Physician, Politician, Banker, Farmer

John Eugene Osborne (June 19, 1858 – April 24, 1943) was an American physician, farmer, banker and Democratic politician. He was one of the first Governors of Wyoming after the Wyoming Territory attained statehood in 1890. Osborne was born in Westport, New York, the son of John C. Osborne and Mary E. Rail. He studied medicine at the University of Vermont and graduated in 1880. Soon after graduation he found employment as a surgeon for the Union Pacific Railroad, and moved to Rawlins, Carbon County, Wyoming. In 1883, Osborne was elected to Wyoming's House of the Territorial Assembly, but resigned in 1885, when he left the Territory for a brief period. In 1888, Osborne was appointed chairman of the Penitentiary Building Commission and elected mayor of the town of Rawlins. During the 1880s, Osborne set up as a physician and chemist in Rawlins, and opened a farm, at one point being known as the largest individual sheep owner in Wyoming. In his capacity as a local physician, he was involved in the execution of Big Nose George Parrott: he helped conduct the autopsy, and later had Parrott's hide tanned and made into his shoes. In 1892, amidst unconfirmed claims of election irregularities, Osborne defeated Acting Governor Amos W. Barber in Wyoming's second gubernatorial elections since achieving statehood. Many incidents surrounded the election, including an almost-certainly incorrect allegation that Osborne had crawled along a ledge outside the Senate House and entered the Governor's Office through a window, in order to prevent Barber from occupying the office in his stead. Osborne was one of only a handful of Democrats to win Governorship of the state of Wyoming, and his term was stormy and rife with bitter fighting between his party and the Republicans. He finished his term on January 7 1895, and declined renomination. From March 4 1897 until March 3 1899 he served in the 55th United States Congress as U.S. Representative from Wyoming, but again declined renomination when his term expired. Osborne was Assistant Secretary of State, serving the Wilson Administration from 1913 until 1916. He was also chairman of the board of the Rawlins National Bank. He was married on November 3 1907 to Selina Smith. He was a member of the Freemasons, and one of the groups that claim lineage with the Knights Templar. He died in Rawlins in 1943, aged 84, and is interred at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Princeton, Kentucky.

References

• Osborne, The Political Graveyard
• John E. Osborne (D), Wyoming state archives
• John Eugene Osborne at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• The Hanging of Dutch Charley and Big Nose George, the election of John E. Osborne, Wyoming Tales and Trails
• "Lynching: History and Analysis", Journal of Social and Economic Studies Legal-Studies, Dwight Murphey, 1995.