Samuel Beach Axtell

1875-1875, Democrat

President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Samuel Beach Axtell as the territorial governor of Utah. Instead of upsetting the Mormon population in Utah, as many previous territorial governors had, Governor Axtell upset the anti-Mormon population. They felt he was too moderate in dealing with the "Mormon issues." President Grant moved Axtell from Utah to serve as governor of New Mexico Territory.

Powell, Allan Kent, ed. Utah History Encyclopedia. Territorial Governors, by Miriam B. Murphy. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1994.