Henry Gage

20th Governor, Republican
(1899-1903)

Henry Gage was born on Christmas Day, 1852 in Geneva, New York. Relocating with his family to East Saginaw, Michigan, Gage spent his teenage years in Michigan, studying law with his lawyer father. In 1873 at the age of twenty-one, Gage was admitted to the Michigan Bar, working for his father's law practice in East Saginaw for over a year. Over a year later, Gage relocated to California, settling in Los Angeles. Between 1874 to 1877, Gage was a successful sheep dealer, selling sheep to various farms around Los Angeles County.^[1] In 1877, Gage returned to law, opening his own practice. Largely successful in court, his practice quickly began to attract a number of prominent corporate clients in Southern California, including the Southern Pacific Railroad, who would enjoy a decades-long relationship with Gage. Three years later, Gage married Francesca V. Rains, a great granddaughter to a California family.^[2] The Gages settled in Bell Gardens at his wife's family home.

Running as a Republican, Gage was elected as Los Angeles City Attorney in 1881, beginning a slow rise within party ranks. At the 1888 Republican National Convention in Chicago, Gage was chosen as a delegate-at-large during the proceedings. In a speech to the convention, Gage seconded the motion to nominate Levi P. Morton as the party's nomination for the vice presidency.^[3]

In 1891, President Benjamin Harrison appointed Gage as a federal prosecutor to prosecute the crew of the Chilean steamer Itata due to the Itata Incident. The U.S. federal government charged the crew with knowingly assisting an illegal arms purchase. Its cargo had consisted of weapons purchased for National Congressional insurgent forces fighting in the Chilean Civil War against President José Manuel Balmaceda. Upon review of the federal government's case, Gage dropped all charges against the Itata's crew, claimining that the government had mistaken the arms purchase as illegal.^[4]

By 1898, Gage had become a prominent corporate lawyer within Los Angeles business circles, as well as a successful owner of real estate, particularly the Red Rover gold mine in Acton in the Santa Clarita Valley. At the state Republican convention that year, Gage was nominated in the first round of voting as the party's nomination for the governorship. His nomination was largely orchestrated by the Southern Pacific Railroad, who had worked with Gage since the 1870s, and saw him as supportive of their interests.

In the 1898 state general elections, Gage defeated his Democratic rival, House Representative James G. Maguire by a modest 6.7%.^[5] Other minor candidates in the election included Job Harriman of the Socialist Labor Party of America and Prohibitionist J. E. McComas, a former State Senator.

Gage was inaugurated as the 20th Governor of California on January 4, 1899. In his inauguration speech, Gage spoke lengthy over foreign policy, favoring the recent results of the Spanish-American War and their effect on California's economy. "The peaceful acquisition of the Hawaiian Islands, extending our empire beyond our Pacific shore, should be followed as a political necessity by the annexation of the Philippines," Gage spoke. "The center of commerce must move westward. California, favorably situated, will, among other advantages, reap the harvest of trade with these new territories, developing our many varied and growing resources, creating a western merchant marine for the carriage of our imports and exports, and luring to our markets the nations of the world."^[6][6]

After leaving Sacramento,Gage returned to Los Angeles to resume his law practice. In 1909, President William Howard Taft appointed Gage as U.S. Minister to Portugal. Gage served in Lisbon for a little more than five months until November 1910. Political instability in Portugal, due to the Revolution of 1910 that deposed King Manuel II, as well as his wife's deteriorating health, forced Gage to submit his resignation to the U.S. Department of State and President Taft. He returned to California shortly afterwards.

Gage died in Los Angeles on August 28, 1924 at the age of 71.

He is buried at 4201 Whittier Blvd., Los Angeles, Los Angeles County California, USA

Gage Avenue in Los Angeles was named after him on October 28, 1929. Henry T. Gage Middle School, also located on Gage Avenue, is named after the governor. The Gage Mansion located in Bell Gardens Los Angeles County and is a registered California State Historical Site.^[20] is now oldest remaining home in

GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL)