Governor Ozra A. Hadley

OZRA A. HADLEY was born in Cherry Creek, New York, on June 30, 1826. He was educated in the public schools of his native state and at Fredonia Academy. Moving to Minnesota in 1855, Hadley farmed, and later was appointed county auditor. In 1865, he migrated to Little Rock, Arkansas, where he opened a general store, and served in the Arkansas Senate from 1869 to 1871. Governor Powell Clayton resigned from office on March 17, 1871, and Hadley, who was president of the Senate at the time, became Arkansas’s acting governor. During his tenure, he favored the liberal view of Reconstruction and denied assistance to reenfranchised whites. After leaving office on January 6, 1873, Hadley was appointed registrar of the U.S. Land Office, and was the postmaster of Little Rock from 1878 to 1882. Ozra A. Hadley died on July 18, 1915, at his ranch in Watrous, New Mexico.