John Treadway Rich was born on April 23, 1841, and died on March 28, 1926. He was an American politician who worked as a member of Congress and served as the 23rd person to be governor of Michigan.

Early life in Pennsylvania, Vermont and Michigan

Rich was born in Conneautville, Pennsylvania, to John W. Rich and Jerusha Treadway Rich. John Treadway Rich's middle name was incorrectly listed as "Tyler," perhaps because he was born nineteen days after John Tyler became U.S. president following the death of William Henry Harrison. In 1846, he moved with his parents to Addison County, Vermont, and two years later, they relocated to Elba Township, Michigan. He attended public schools and worked in farming. On March 12, 1863, he married Lucretia M. Winship.

Politics

Rich was a member and chairman of the board of supervisors in Lapeer County from 1869 to 1872. He later served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 1873 to 1881 and was the speaker of the house during the last two years of his term. He also attended Republican State conventions in 1873, 1875, and 1878.

In 1881, Rich became a member of the Michigan Senate but resigned on March 21, 1881, after being elected to the United States House of Representatives for the 47th Congress. He filled the vacancy left by Omar D. Conger’s resignation and served in Congress from April 5, 1881, to March 4, 1883. He ran for reelection in 1882 but was not successful. Later, he worked as the State Railroad Commissioner from 1887 to 1891 and attended Republican National Conventions in 1884 and 1892. These conventions aimed to elect James G. Blaine and Benjamin Harrison as U.S. president, but both candidates lost to Grover Cleveland of the Democratic Party.

Rich was the Governor of Michigan from 1893 to 1897. During his time in office, a railroad strike and an iron mine strike occurred. Additionally, three members of the State Canvassing Board were removed from their positions for falsifying results related to a vote on raising salaries for state officials.

After leaving the governor’s office, Rich worked as the United States collector of customs in Detroit from February 16, 1898, to January 30, 1906. He was later elected State Treasurer of Michigan to replace someone who had left the position and served from January 23, 1908, to January 1, 1909. He also worked as collector of customs in Port Huron from December 11, 1908, to May 30, 1913.