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Stuart, Charles Sanderson

Governor[1] nomine in Utah Territory[2] in 1876.[1] (November 16, 1822 – July 2, 1876)[2]

Father to Janet Stuart Kilmer. A currupt political operative, he presided over the population[1] of Utah Territory in an unofficial, albeit authoritative capacity. Although the territory was administered by governors officially appointed by the President of the United States,[2] Stuart ran an unscrupulous, yet seemingly benevolent political underground known clandestinely as the Stuart Machine[1] from the early 1860s[2] until his death in 1876.[1] Such was his political power that many territorial residents granted him the honorary title of Governor, although his authority was not recognized by the federal government. Stuart and his followers garnered great influence over the official territorial government throughout several gubernatorial administrations, often forcing Presidential appointees out of office through political pressure, coercion, or even violence.[2]

In early July of 1876,[2] a woman's husband shot and killed Stuart[1] in Salt Lake City.[2] In Grantsville, a local citizen had collected a bundle of documents incriminating Stuart and his political operatives and turned them over to Judge Somervell, who was intent on hushing up any scandal to protect the territory's chances of gaining statehood. That same day, the Grantsville man was murdered and the Stuart Machine's desperate hunt for the documents began. After witnessing the violent lengths to which the Stuart Machine would go, Somervell changed his mind about his cover-up and decided instead to make the documents public to destroy the remnants of Stuart's political organization, thus assuring that any future territorial bid for statehood would be fair and untainted for the sake of its honest citizens.[1]

See: The Thirty-Ninth Star