Sacramento, CA Past Governors of California Governor Young signing a bill, 1927 Inauguration of James Rolph, Governor of California, 1931 Governor Culbert L. Olson, circa 1939

Peter Burnett
1849–1851
John McDougal
1851–1852
John Bigler
1852–1856
J. Neely Johnson
1856–1858
John Weller
1858–1860
Milton Latham
1860–1860
John Downey
1860–1862
Leland Stanford
1862–1863
Frederick Low
1863–1867
Henry Haight
1867–1871
Newton Booth
1871–1875
Romualdo Pacheco
1875–1875
William Irwin
1875–1880
George Perkins
1880–1883
George Stoneman
1883–1887
Washington Bartlett
1887–1887
Robert Waterman
1887–1891
Henry Harrison Markham
1891–1895
James Budd
1895–1899
Henry Gage
1899–1903
George Pardee
1903–1907
James Gillett
1907–1911
Hiram Johnson
1911–1917
William Stephens
1917–1923
Friend Richardson
1923–1927
C.C. Young
1927–1931
James Rolph
1931–1934
Frank Merriam
1934–1939
Culbert Olson
1939–1943
Earl Warren
1943–1953
Goodwin Knight
1953–1959
Edmund G. "Pat" Brown
1959–1967
Ronald Reagan
1967–1975
Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown
1975–1983
George Deukmejian
1983–1991
Pete Wilson
1991–1999
Gray Davis
1999–2003
Arnold Schwarzenegger
2003–2011
Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown
2011–2019
Gavin Newsom
2019–Present

John Weller

1858–1860

Significant Facts

Born: February 22, 1812 in Montgomery, Ohio
Died: August 17, 1875 in New Orleans, Louisiana
Married: Elizabeth Brockelbank Stanton on June 20, 1854 in New York City
Political Party: Democrat

Family

Father: Lodewick Weller
Mother: Lettie Miller
Wife: Elizabeth "Lizzie" Brockelbank Stanton
Children: Charles, John and William
(from previous marriage), and Josiah (stepson)

Find out more about the time period and interests of John Weller

U.S.- Mexican War
Weller, John B. at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
“When the Pony Express was in Vogue” at the Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco

Did You Know?

Weller had "more of reputation for frolicsomeness than scholarship" when he left Miami University before graduating

Biography

John Weller was born on February 22, 1812, in Montgomery, Hamilton County, Ohio. He attended Miami University, Oxford, Ohio from 1825 to 1829, but never graduated. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1832, and opened a private practice in Ohio. During the Mexican War, Weller served as a lieutenant colonel for the United States Volunteers.

Weller entered politics as the prosecuting attorney of Butler County, serving from 1833 to 1836. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1839 to 1845, and ran unsuccessfully for governor of Ohio in 1848. Weller served for one year as U.S. Commissioner of International Boundaries, but after a scandal he was removed from the commission. He moved to San Francisco in 1850 and was elected to the United States Senate in 1852, where he served until 1857. On September 2, 1857, he was elected Governor of California, and on January 8, 1858, was sworn into office. During his tenure, he advocated making California an independent republic if the North and South separated over slavery. He personally led a raid on San Quentin Prison, taking the prison back from a commercial contractor.

Weller left office on January 9, 1860, and was appointed the United States Minister to Mexico, serving until he was recalled in 1861. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1864. In 1867, he moved to New Orleans where he continued to practice law. Governor John B. Weller died on August 17, 1875, and is buried at St. John's Cemetery, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Bibliography

Books and Articles

Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, 1774 – 2005
"Biographical sketch of John B. Weller," Daily Alta California, August 4, 1857
Melendy and Gilbert. The Governors of California: From Peter H. Burnett to Edmund G. Brown, Talisman Press, 1965.
Schaechtele. The Governors of California and their Portraits, California State Capitol Museum Volunteer Association, 1995.

Websites

National Governors Association

Speeches

Inaugural Address delivered on January 8, 1858

Executive Orders and Proclamations

Use the California State Library’s interactive tool to view Executive Orders and Proclamations signed by Governor Weller.

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