Today, Stanford University stands as a testament to Leland Stanford’s business acumen. And though he is best remembered for his founding of the university in his son’s name and his railroad empire, he also had a particularly interesting political career too.
Indeed, as the eighth Governor of California and the first Republican to hold that office, Stanford presided over a politically significant – and not to mention turbulent – time in the young state’s history, one whose legacy can still be seen today, over 130 years later!
Early Life
Amasa Leland Stanford, better known to his friends as simply “Leland” was born on March 9 1824 in the town of Watervliet, New York, now a part of the town of Colonie in Albany County.
The fifth of eight children born to prosperous farmer Josiah Stanford and his wife, Elizabeth Philips, Leland counted future newspaper publisher and New York State Senator Charles Stanford, Australian businessman Weston Stanford and prospector Josiah Stanford Jr. among his siblings.
Despite growing up the son of a somewhat prosperous farmer, and having two fairly large estates to call home (the primary one being called Elm Grove in the Roessleville area of Watervliet), Leland’s early life was not easy.
Not wanting any of his sons to coast through life without doing a hard day’s labor in their lives, Josiah Sr. had all four of his sons working on the farms from an early age, so that they would learn the benefits of having a strong work ethic.