Samuel J . Kirkwood Samuel Jordan Kirkwood ( December 20 , 1813September 1 , 1894 ) , was an American politician best known as Iowa ' s American Civil War Governor . He also served in the U . S . Senate and as U . S . Secretary of the Interior . Early life and career . Samuel J . Kirkwood was born in 1813 in Harford County , Maryland . At age 17 , he began teaching school and had as one of his pupils his cousin Daniel Kirkwood , who later achieved prominence as a mathematician and astronomer . Samuel spent part of his youth in Washington , D . C . , then joined his father in moving to Ohio in 1835 . There he became a well - known anti - slavery Republican . He was elected to several state offices and worked closely with Thomas Bartley , the future governor of Ohio , in the 1840s . In 1855 Kirkwood moved to Iowa , living northwest of Iowa City , and became involved with the Clark family , also from Ohio , in a milling venture , and then with the Clark and Lucas families in land speculation . Kirkwood married Jane Clark , the sister of Ezekiel Clark , and thus became the brother - in - law of Edward Lucas , son of Robert Lucas . Although Kirkwood intended to leave politics behind him in Ohio , he took an interest in the newly founded Republican Party . Summoned from his mill at Coralville and still coated in flour dust , Kirkwood gave a rousing speech at the founding meeting of the Iowa Republican Party in February 1856 . Many people credited Kirkwood ’ s speech and subsequent work with the success of the Republican Party in Iowa ; that year he was elected to the Iowa Senate serving from 1856 to 1859 . Governorship : The Coppock Incident and the Civil War . In 1859 Kirkwood was nominated for governor and defeated Augustus C . Dodge after a bitter campaign which focused on the slave issue . In 1860 , Kirkwood ’ s first year in office , the John Brown raid on Harpers Ferry further polarized the nation over slavery , and Kirkwood was clearly on the side of the militant abolitionists . When Barclay Coppock , a youth from Springdale , who was part of Brown ’ s raid , fled to Iowa , Kirkwood refused to accept extradition papers for him from Virginia , and allowed Coppock to escape . During the Civil War , Kirkwood gained national attention for his extraordinary efforts to secure soldiers and supplies from Iowa for the Union Army . A strong supporter of President Abraham Lincoln ' s policies during the American Civil War , he was active in raising and equipping dozens of regiment s of infantry , as well as cavalry and artillery , for the Union Army . In 1862 , he attended the Loyal War Governors ' Conference in Altoona , Pennsylvania , which ultimately gave Lincoln support for his Emancipation Proclamation . Senate and Secretary of the Interior . After he left office in 1864 , Kirkwood moved to a new brick house on Wyoming Road in Iowa City ( now Kirkwood Avenue ) and practiced law . About this time Kirkwood sold his share of the mill , part of it to his brother , William , and part to Valentine Miller . In 1865 - 1867 , he served the remainder of James Harlan ’ s term in the U . S . Senate , and served in the Senate again from 1877 to 1881 . Between his separate terms as a Senator , he was again the Governor of Iowa from 1876 to 1877 . He resigned as governor in 1877 to begin his second term as U . S . Senator . In 1881 , Kirkwood resigned his Senate seat to become Secretary of the Interior under President James Garfield . He served as Interior Secretary until 1882 . He unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1886 . Kirkwood died in 1894 in Iowa City , and is buried in Oakland Cemetery . Memorials . Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids is named for the former Iowa Governor and Senator . The town of Kirkwood , Illinois is named for him as well . Along with pioneer Iowa politician James Harlan , Kirkwood ' s sculptured likeness is maintained among the two coveted statues apportioned to each state on display under the rotunda in Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol in Washington , D . C . Kirkwood Avenue in Iowa City , where he lived for much of his political career , is named for him , as is the Kirkwood Hotel in Des Moines . Kirkwood Elementary is located in Coralville , where Kirkwood ran his mill . A small , neglected monument once stood near the Morningside entrance to Iowa City High School , but this was removed in 2010 . Kirkwood Boulevard in Davenport is the route of the internationally known foot race , the Bix 7 .