Editing List of governors of Montana (section)

===Territory of Montana===
[[Montana Territory]] was organized from [[Idaho Territory]] on May 26, 1864.<ref>{{usstat|13|85}}</ref> During its 35-year history, it had nine governors appointed by the [[president of the United States]], and three acting governors, all of whom had been appointed territorial secretary before becoming acting governor. The first, [[Thomas Francis Meagher]], served as acting governor from 1865 until 1867.<ref name="mthist">{{Cite web |last=Allen, Fredrick |date=Spring 2001 |title=Montana Vigilantes: and the Origins of the 3-7-77 |url=http://travel.mt.gov/history/Montana_the_Magazine_of_Western_History/montanavigilantes2.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121162139/http://travel.mt.gov/history/Montana_the_Magazine_of_Western_History/montanavigilantes2.htm |archive-date=21 November 2008 |access-date=17 April 2008 |website=Governor of the State of Montana |publisher=Montana The Magazine of Western History |pages=3–19}}</ref> The second, [[James Tufts]], served in for one month in 1869,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Burlingame |first=Merrill Gildea |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OkclAAAAMAAJ&q=%22james+tufts+served+as%22 |title=The Montana Frontier |date=1942 |publisher=State Publishing Company |location=Helena, MT |page=166}}</ref> and was succeeded by [[Wiley Scribner]], who served 1869–1870.<ref name="Scribner obit">{{Cite news |date=September 29, 1889 |title=Recorder Scribner Dead |page=11 |work=The Inter Ocean |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/14513160/wiley-scribner-1840-1889/ |access-date=October 19, 2017 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Governors of the Territory of Montana
!scope="col" data-sort-type="number"|{{abbr|No.|Number}}
!scope="colgroup" colspan="2"|Governor
!scope="col"|Term in office{{efn|The range given is from the date the governor was confirmed by the Senate, or appointed by the President during a Senate recess, to the date the governor left office.}}
!scope="col"|Appointed by
|- style="height:2em;"
!scope="row"|1
|data-sort-value="Edgerton, Sidney"|[[File:SEdgerton.jpg|75px]]
|'''[[Sidney Edgerton]]'''<br>{{Small|(1818–1900)}}<br>{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=211–212}}
|{{dts|June 22, 1864}}{{efn|Edgerton was nominated on June 20, 1864,<ref>U.S. Congress. ''Senate Exec. Journal''. 38th Cong., 1st sess., [https://books.google.com/books?id=zlug2rKqTNsC&pg=PA590 590], accessed March 24, 2023.</ref> confirmed by the Senate on June 22,<ref>U.S. Congress. ''Senate Exec. Journal''. 38th Cong., 1st sess., [https://books.google.com/books?id=zlug2rKqTNsC&pg=PA594 594], accessed March 24, 2023.</ref> and arrived in the territory in July.{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=211–212}}}}<br />–<br />July 13, 1866<br>{{small|(successor appointed)}}{{efn|Edgerton left for Washington, D.C., in September 1865 to secure funding, but failed; he never formally resigned, but never returned to the territory. Territorial Secretary [[Thomas Francis Meagher]] acted as governor in the interim.{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=211–212}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goodspeed |first=Weston Arthur |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GuUyAQAAIAAJ&q=%22sidney+edgerton%22+%22montana%22+funds+resigned&pg=PA419 |title=The Province and the States: Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota |date=1904 |publisher=Western Historical Association |volume=VI |location=Madison, WI |pages=419–420}}</ref>}}
|{{sortname|Abraham|Lincoln}}
|- style="height:2em;"
!scope="row"|2
|data-sort-value="Smith, Green"|[[File:Green Clay Smith - Brady-Handy.jpg|75px]]
|'''[[Green Clay Smith]]'''<br>{{Small|(1826–1895)}}<br>{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=212–213}}
|{{dts|July 13, 1866}}{{efn|Smith was nominated on June 13, 1866;<ref>U.S. Congress. ''Senate Exec. Journal''. 39th Cong., 1st sess., [https://books.google.com/books?id=FkRN8TGdjPYC&pg=PA862 862], accessed March 24, 2023.</ref> confirmed by the Senate on July 13;<ref>U.S. Congress. ''Senate Exec. Journal''. 39th Cong., 1st sess., [https://books.google.com/books?id=FkRN8TGdjPYC&pg=PA920 920], accessed March 24, 2023.</ref> and arrived in the territory in October.{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=212–213}}}}<br />–<br />April 9, 1869<br>{{small|(resigned)}}{{efn|Smith went east in July 1868 to secure funding, and never returned to the territory.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Malone |first=Michael P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p-P59FkOPg0C&q=%22green+clay+smith%22+%22montana%22+%221868%22&pg=PA105 |title=Montana: A History of Two Centuries |date=1976 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=978-0-295-97129-2 |location=Seattle, WA |page=105}}</ref> The nomination of his successor notes that he resigned, but with no further details.<ref name="ashley-nominated" /> Territorial Secretary [[James Tufts]] acted as governor in the interim.{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=212–213}}}}
|{{sortname|Andrew|Johnson}}
|- style="height:2em;"
!scope="row"|3
|data-sort-value="Ashley, James"|[[File:James Mitchell Ashley - Brady-Handy.jpg|75px]]
|'''[[James Mitchell Ashley]]'''<br>{{Small|(1824–1896)}}<br>{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=214–215}}
|{{dts|April 9, 1869}}{{efn|Ashley was nominated on April 5, 1869;<ref name="ashley-nominated">U.S. Congress. ''Senate Exec. Journal''. 41st Cong., 1st sess., [https://books.google.com/books?id=TRhHAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA81 81], accessed March 24, 2023.</ref> confirmed by the Senate on April 9;<ref>U.S. Congress. ''Senate Exec. Journal''. 41st Cong., 1st sess., [https://books.google.com/books?id=TRhHAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA120 120], accessed March 24, 2023.</ref> and arrived in the territory that summer.{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=214–215}}}}<br />–<br />December 17, 1869<br>{{small|(removed)}}{{efn|Grant removed Ashley from office abruptly and nominated his successor on December 17, 1869; the office would remain vacant for six months, during which time Territorial Secretary [[Wiley Scribner]] acted as governor.{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=214–215}} McMullin says Grant gave no reason, but contemporary news reports offer several reasons, ranging from general fitness for the job to accusations of criticizing Grant's policies.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1869-12-31 |title=The Removal of Gov. Ashley |page=2 |work=Ottawa County Union |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/121585598/the-removal-of-gov-ashley/ |access-date=2023-03-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Eblen |first=Jack Ericson |url=https://archive.org/details/firstsecondunit00eble |title=The First and Second United States Empires: Governors and Territorial Government, 1784-1912 |date=1968 |publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press |location=Pittsburgh, PA |page=283 |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Toole |first=Kenneth Ross |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2PuBxozvcTQC&pg=PA109 |title=Montana: An Uncommon Land |date=1959 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=9780806118901 |location=Norman, OK |page=109}}</ref>}}
|{{sortname|Ulysses S.|Grant}}
|- style="height:2em;"
!rowspan="2" scope="rowgroup"|4
|rowspan="2" data-sort-value="Potts, Benjamin"|[[File:Benjamin F Potts.jpg|75px]]
|rowspan="2"|'''[[Benjamin F. Potts]]'''<br>{{Small|(1836–1887)}}<br>{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=215–216}}
|rowspan="2"|{{dts|July 13, 1870}}{{efn|Potts was nominated on December 17, 1869;<ref>U.S. Congress. ''Senate Exec. Journal''. 41st Cong., 2nd sess., [https://books.google.com/books?id=TRhHAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA317 317], accessed March 24, 2023.</ref> confirmed by the Senate on July 13, 1870;<ref>U.S. Congress. ''Senate Exec. Journal''. 41st Cong., 2nd sess., [https://books.google.com/books?id=TRhHAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA539 539], accessed March 24, 2023.</ref> and arrived in the territory on August 29.{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=215–216}} He was reconfirmed by the Senate on June 22, 1874,<ref>U.S. Congress. ''Senate Exec. Journal''. 43rd Cong., 1st sess., [https://books.google.com/books?id=QVoUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA367 367], accessed March 24, 2023.</ref> and June 14, 1878.<ref>U.S. Congress. ''Senate Exec. Journal''. 45th Cong., 2nd sess., [https://books.google.com/books?id=cj2DLzVI238C&pg=PA354 354], accessed March 24, 2023.</ref>}}<br />–<br />August 4, 1882<br>{{small|(successor appointed)}}{{efn|Crosby, Potts' successor, was confirmed by the Senate on August 4, 1882, and Potts continued to serve as governor until Crosby arrived on January 15, 1883.{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=215–216}}<ref name="crosby-arrived">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1FHCmVE3x2cC&pg=PA387 |title=Contributions to the Historical Society of Montana |date=1896 |publisher=State Publishing Company |volume=2 |location=Helena, MT |page=387}}</ref>}}
|{{sortname|Ulysses S.|Grant}}
|- style="height:2em;"
|{{sortname|Rutherford B.|Hayes}}
|- style="height:2em;"
!scope="row"|5
|data-sort-value="Crosby, John"|[[File:John Schuyler Crosby.jpg|75px]]
|'''[[John Schuyler Crosby]]'''<br>{{Small|(1839–1914)}}<br>{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=216–217}}
|{{dts|August 4, 1882}}{{efn|Crosby was nominated on July 26, 1882;<ref>U.S. Congress. ''Senate Exec. Journal''. 47th Cong., 1st sess., [https://books.google.com/books?id=5iZqp6LiAkkC&pg=PA497 497], accessed March 24, 2023.</ref> confirmed by the Senate on August 4;<ref>U.S. Congress. ''Senate Exec. Journal''. 47th Cong., 1st sess., [https://books.google.com/books?id=5iZqp6LiAkkC&pg=PA519 519], accessed March 24, 2023.</ref> and arrived in the territory on January 15, 1883.<ref name="crosby-arrived" />}}<br />–<br />November 11, 1884<br>{{small|(resigned)}}{{efn|Crosby resigned, having been appointed First Assistant United States Postmaster General.{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=216–217}}}}
|{{sortname|Chester A.|Arthur}}
|- style="height:2em;"
!scope="row"|6
|data-sort-value="Carpenter, B."|[[File:Benjamin Platt Carpenter (Montana Territorial Governor).jpg|75px]]
|'''[[B. Platt Carpenter]]'''<br>{{Small|(1837–1921)}}<br>{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=217–218}}
|{{dts|December 22, 1884}}{{efn|Carpenter was nominated on December 16, 1884;<ref>U.S. Congress. ''Senate Exec. Journal''. 48th Cong., 2nd sess., [https://books.google.com/books?id=Zd-tAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA387 387], accessed March 24, 2023.</ref> confirmed by the Senate on December 22;<ref>U.S. Congress. ''Senate Exec. Journal''. 48th Cong., 2nd sess., [https://books.google.com/books?id=Zd-tAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA402 402], accessed March 24, 2023.</ref> and arrived in the territory in January 1885.{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=217–218}}}}<br />–<br />July 3, 1885<br>{{small|(removed)}}{{efn|Carpenter was removed when Democrat [[Grover Cleveland]] succeeded Republican President [[Chester A. Arthur]].{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=217–218}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Spence |first=Clark C. |url=https://archive.org/details/montanabicentenn00spen |title=Montana: A History |date=1978 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-0-393-34856-9 |location=New York, NY |page=86 |url-access=registration}}</ref>}}
|{{sortname|Chester A.|Arthur}}
|- style="height:2em;"
!scope="row"|7
|data-sort-value="Hauser, Samuel"|[[File:Samuel Thomas Hauser.gif|75px]]
|'''[[Samuel Thomas Hauser]]'''<br>{{Small|(1833–1914)}}<br>{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=218–219}}
|{{dts|May 14, 1886}}{{efn|Hauser was nominated on December 10, 1885,<ref>U.S. Congress. ''Senate Exec. Journal''. 49th Cong., 1st sess., [https://books.google.com/books?id=97kzyydE0yoC&pg=PA55 55], accessed March 24, 2023.</ref> and confirmed by the Senate on May 14, 1886.<ref>U.S. Congress. ''Senate Exec. Journal''. 49th Cong., 1st sess., [https://books.google.com/books?id=97kzyydE0yoC&pg=PA462 462], accessed March 24, 2023.</ref>}}<br />–<br />January 13, 1887<br>{{small|(resigned)}}{{efn|Hauser resigned in December 1886 to tend to his business interests. Leslie, Hauser's successor, was confirmed on January 13, 1887, and Hauser continued to serve as governor until Leslie arrived on February 8.{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=218–219}}}}
|{{sortname|Grover|Cleveland}}
|- style="height:2em;"
!scope="row"|8
|data-sort-value="Leslie, Preston"|[[File:PHLeslie.jpg|75px]]
|'''[[Preston Leslie]]'''<br>{{Small|(1819–1907)}}<br>{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=219–220}}
|{{dts|January 13, 1887}}{{efn|Leslie was nominated on December 15, 1886;<ref>U.S. Congress. ''Senate Exec. Journal''. 49th Cong., 2nd sess., [https://books.google.com/books?id=97kzyydE0yoC&pg=PA647 647], accessed March 24, 2023.</ref> confirmed by the Senate on January 13, 1887;<ref>U.S. Congress. ''Senate Exec. Journal''. 
49th Cong., 2nd sess., [https://books.google.com/books?id=97kzyydE0yoC&pg=PA698 698], accessed March 24, 2023.</ref> and sworn in February 8.{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=219–220}}}}<br />–<br />March 27, 1889<br>{{small|(successor appointed)}}
|{{sortname|Grover|Cleveland}}
|- style="height:2em;"
!scope="row"|9
|data-sort-value="White, Benjami"|[[File:Benjamin Franklin White (Montana Territory Governor).jpg|75px]]
|'''[[Benjamin F. White (Montana politician)|Benjamin F. White]]'''<br>{{Small|(1838–1920)}}<br>{{sfn|McMullin|1984|pp=220–221}}
|{{dts|March 27, 1889}}{{efn|White was nominated on March 26, 1889,<ref>U.S. Congress. ''Senate Exec. Journal''. 51st Cong., special sess., [https://books.google.com/books?id=ubzy660-TXoC&pg=PA40 40], accessed March 24, 2023.</ref> and confirmed on March 27.<ref>U.S. Congress. ''Senate Exec. Journal''. 51st Cong., special sess., [https://books.google.com/books?id=ubzy660-TXoC&pg=PA46 46], accessed March 24, 2023.</ref>}}<br />–<br />November 8, 1889<br>{{small|(statehood)}}
|{{sortname|Benjamin|Harrison}}
|}