Name Isaac Stoddard | Nationality American | |
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Born January 19, 1851Whitney Point, New York ( 1851-01-19 ) Spouse(s) Mary Martin (m. 1879–1914) Died November 10, 1914, Phoenix, Arizona, United States | ||
Isaac Taft Stoddard (January 19, 1851 in Whitney Point, Broome County, New York – November 10, 1914) was an American lawyer, businessman and politician from Arizona.
Life
He was the son of Roswell Washington Stoddard (b. ca. 1819, a harness maker) and Angeline (Taft) Stoddard (b. ca. 1828). He married Mary Martin (b. 1859, daughter of Judge Celora E. Martin), and their children were Florence Stoddard (ca. 1881-1903) and Celora Martin Stoddard (1886–1943).
In 1879, Stoddard began to invest money in Arizona mines. He was a partner, and the General Manager, of the Stoddard Copper Co., based in Stoddard, Yavapai County, Arizona, now a ghost town.
On June 6, 1901, Stoddard was appointed by President William McKinley as Secretary of the Territory of Arizona. In June 1903, while Governor Alexander Brodie was out of the Territory, Acting Governor Stoddard was faced with a strike of about 3,500 miners in Morenci, Arizona, and sent out the entire force of the Territorial Militia to preserve order.
As Secretary of the Territory he promoted the incorporation of companies, earning fees of allegedly $50,000 a year. Although this was not illegal, the Territory attempted to curtail the Secretary's fees, and to put the office on a salary basis. This led Stoddard to burn his books, to prevent inspection, and to tender his resignation, to take effect on April 1, 1904.
From 1911 to 1912, he was President of the Overland Telephone and Telegraph Co., of Phoenix, Arizona.
His son Celora M. Stoddard was a member of the Arizona State Senate from 1921 to 1923; and a contender for the Republican nomination for Governor of Arizona in September 1928, but lost the primary to John C. Phillips who later won the election.