Mason Brayman Mason Brayman ( May 23 , 1813 – February 27 , 1895 ) was an American attorney , newspaperman , and military officer . During his service to the Union Army during the American Civil War he rose to the rank of Brigadier general . Later in life , he became the seventh Governor of the Idaho Territory . Early life . Brayman was born in Buffalo , New York on May 23 , 1813 . Raised with a Calvinist outlook and a hatred of liquor , he was apprenticed to a printer at the age of 17 . Five years later he became editor of a local newspaper . In addition to his work with newspapers , he studied law and was admitted to the New York Bar in 1836 . The year after his admission to the bar , Brayman married his wife , Mary . She was a direct descendant of Roger Williams and the union produced three daughters . Following his marriage Brayman began a series of westward moves , working as a city attorney in Michigan and newspaper editor in Ohio before settling in Springfield , Illinois , during the early 1840s . Illinois . In Springfield , Brayman practiced law with Jesse B . Thomas , Jr . , and wrote editorials for the town ' s newspapers . In addition to spending time with persons such as Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A . Douglas , he oversaw the American Baptist Publishing Society , was active in the temperance movement , and was a leader of the local Baptist church . In 1844 , Brayman gained statewide prominence by accepting a commission from Governor Thomas Ford to revise the Illinois legal code . Two years later he was commissioned as a special prosecutor to deal with incidents occurring during the Illinois Mormon War . In this capacity he devised the agreement which allowed the Mormons to leave Illinois . In the 1850s , Brayman joined the staff of the Illinois Central Railroad , working to gain rights of way for the expanding railroad . In 1855 , he sold his position with the Illinois Central and took a position with the Cairo and Fulton Railroad . This move proved to be a financial blunder as the new railroad eventually failed , while the Illinois Central prospered . During 1858 , Brayman campaigned for Abraham Lincoln ' s Illinois senate candidacy . Civil War . With the outbreak of the American Civil War , Brayman joined with other railroad executives and secured a military commission . Initially serving as a major with the 29th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment under General McClernand , he was promoted to colonel on April 15 , 1862 and command of his regiment . Following the Battle of Fort Donelson , Brayman stopped shaving and grew a beard that would eventually reach his belt . He also had his horse shot out from under him twice . At Shiloh he became a minor hero , rallying his troops by charging between the Union and Confederate lines . During the Siege of Vicksburg he suffered a bout of heatstroke that forced him into garrison duty . By the end of the war he had achieved the rank of Brigadier general and was serving as head of a claims commission in New Orleans . Following the war , Brayman attempted to revive his career with the Cairo and Fulton before returning to work as a newspaper editor in Springfield and Quincy , Illinois . In 1873 , he entered semi - retirement on a farm in Ripon , Wisconsin . The Panic of 1873 however destroyed most of his wealth and by 1876 he was lobbying for a patronage appointment . Idaho . Brayman was nominated by President Ulysses S . Grant as Governor of the Idaho Territory on July 24 , 1876 . Being unfamiliar with the territory , the new governor consulted with the territorial delegate , Stephen S . Fenn , to learn what he could of his new appointment . Fenn was a Democratic politician who gained much of his support from the territory ' s Mormon population . The delegate was also a rival of the Boise Ring , a clique of influential Anti - Mormon Republican politicians . The delegate used the opportunity to accuse Territorial Secretary and Acting Governor E . J . Curtis of drunkenness , fraud , and misuse of public funds . Fenn ' s advice , combined with Brayman ' s natural inclinations , created a distrust of the Ring by the new governor . Upon his arrival in Idaho , the locals initially considered Brayman to be a somewhat pompous greenhorn who was otherwise harmless . The new governor , in turn , acted with caution while learning about the territory . Opinions of the governor changed , however , when the 9th legislative session began in December 1876 and Brayman promoted a number of administrative improvements and economic reforms . At the same time , Brayman observed during the legislative session that there were political factions within the territory opposed to the Boise Ring . Brayman ' s first confrontation with the Boise Ring came two days before the inauguration of Rutherford B . Hayes as President of the United States . An investigation had convinced the governor that Secretary E . J . Curtis , who Brayman considered to be a leader of the Boise Ring , was guilty of wrongdoing . The governor confronted the secretary and convinced him that he was to be replaced by the new administration and could avoid prosecution by submitting his resignation . The situation changed two months later when Curtis rescinded his resignation , claiming he had been tricked into giving it , and demanding reinstatement . Curtis was restored to his position and cleared of any wrongdoing . The outbreak of the Nez Perce War led to additional problems for the governor . Lacking legal basis for creation of a militia , Brayman was forced to rely upon General Oliver O . Howard ' s response to the hostilities . This caused anger among residents of the northern counties who lacked the means to defend themselves against the hostile tribe . Additional problems came for the governor following a visit to Rocky Bar courthouse in Alturas County . The court faced a large backlog of cases involving mining disputes , and the delays thus caused were affecting the local economy . Brayman suggested involved parties come to out of court settlements as a means of speeding resolution . Chief Justice Madison Hollister , presiding justice and member of the Boise Ring , took this suggestion as a personal affront . The Ring in turn used the incident as an excuse to seek Brayman ' s disbarment . Brayman prevailed during the disbarment hearing but was publicly humiliated in the process . The governor ' s troubles continued to mount as result of a racially charged murder trial . A dispute arose on June 10 , 1877 , between a group of Chinese workers and hot - tempered Irish miner John McGuinness . The dispute escalated to violence and McGuinness killed two of the Chinese and wounded a third before the remaining workers stabbed the miner to death . The workers were convicted of second degree murder by an all white jury . Brayman , believing the Chinese had acted in self - defense , choose to pardon the convicted workers . The morally courageous proved politically disastrous and the white population reacted angrily to the pardons . Additional pressure came upon Brayman as result of the May 30 , 1878 , outbreak of the Bannock War . The 130 carbine s held by the territory were insufficient to arm the citizens seeking protection . Demands from the territory ' s residents for weapons to defend themselves eventually led the governor to seek permission to issue arms from the federal stockpile at Fort Boise . Complicating the governor ' s position was the revelation that Brayman had authorized Bannock leader Buffalo Horn , a former army scout with a history of aiding the U . S . government , to purchase US $ 2 worth of ammunition ( roughly 100 bullets and a pound of black powder ) 13 days before outbreak of hostilities . Replacement . On June 9 , 1878 , word arrived in Idaho that John Philo Hoyt had been appointed the territory ' s new governor . Hoyt , who at the time was Governor of Arizona Territory and as unaware of the action as Brayman , was being removed by President Hayes to make way for John C . Frémont who had used his political connections to secure an influential appointment . Hoyt was unsure about the situation and was denied Senate confirmation after failing to respond to questions in a timely manner . Hayes then renominated Hoyt for the position , but Hoyt turned down the nomination after investigating the situation in Idaho . The effect of this was that Brayman , while technically suspended , was still the " de facto " governor . His political opponents , eager to see him gone , lobbied Hayes to appoint another replacement . Brayman , however still maintained considerable influence outside of the territory and used his connections to petition for reinstatement . Within the territory there were four petitions circulated expressing support for the embattled governor , one by Mormon residents , one in the northern counties , and two by anti - Ring groups . With the conflicting opinions about Brayman , the Hayes administration decided to leave the governor in office till the expiration of his term on July 24 , 1880 . The remainder of his term saw Brayman ' s influence largely blocked by political infighting with pro - Ring elements . An effort to pass a militia bill during the 10th legislative session passed the upper house but the governor was unable pressure the lower house to pass the legislation . Similar results occurred with efforts to bring railroad service to the southern portion of the Territory . The Territory ' s unwillingness to pass subsidy legislation caused the railroads to lose interest in routes that crossed the Territory in favor of other alternatives . Brayman ' s final efforts to defeat the Boise Ring came in his efforts for reapportionment . In 1879 , he took a leave of absence to return the East Coast and lobby the U . S . Congress for changes . Unsuccessful in this effort he was forced to wait till after the 1880 Census when the governor would lead a three man commission overseeing allocation of territorial representation . His successor , John Baldwin Neil , however was named and arrived in the territory to take the oath of office before Brayman was able to complete his plans . Later life . Brayman left Idaho on August 19 , 1880 . His departure did not end his influence on Idaho politics however . Lewiston - based newspaper editor Alonzo Leland , looking for a rallying point against the Boise Ring nominated the former governor to be the Territorial delegate to the U . S . Congress during the 1880 campaign . As a result , Brayman received 904 of the 938 votes cast in the northern counties . This support was insufficient for victory , however , as the southeastern and southwestern counties completely ignored Brayman ' s candidacy . Brayman died in Kansas City , Missouri , on February 27 , 1895 . Obituaries printed at the time tended to praise his earlier years while giving only passing mention to his time in Idaho .