Norman Jay Coleman

Norman Jay Coleman (May 16, 1827 – November 3, 1911) was a newspaper publisher and the first United States Secretary of Agriculture.

Coleman was born in Richfield Springs, New York in 1827 to Hamilton and Nancy Coleman. He received a law degree from the University of Louisville Law School in 1849. Coleman then moved to Missouri and went into farming. In 1855 he started the Valley Farmer newspaper. As a result of the newspaper, Coleman became an important person in the Missouri farming community, which helped him become a member of the Missouri House of Representatives. Coleman’s newspaper stopped due to the American Civil War, but three years after the war he started the Coleman’s Rural World. His career in politics continued when he was made the Lieutenant Governor of Missouri from 1875 to 1877. During that time he worked to make United States Department of Agriculture a cabinet-level department. Under the administration of President Grover Cleveland, he served as its first Secretary. His position as Secretary of Agriculture was never confirmed by the United States Senate.Grossman, 2

He was a member of the Freemasons.

References

Grossman, Mark. Encyclopedia of the United States Cabinet. Vols. 1-3. (2000) .

Other websites
 Norman Jay Coleman at Find A Grave

Category:United States Secretaries of Agriculture
Category:1827 births
Category:1911 deaths
Category:Deaths from pneumonia
Category:Politicians from New York (state)
Category:State legislators of the United States
Category:Lieutenant Governors of Missouri