Frank White (December 12, 1856 – March 23, 1940) was an American politician who served as the eighth governor of North Dakota from 1901 to 1905. He was a Republican who also served as Treasurer of the United States from 1921 to 1928.
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Family
Colonel Frank White was born on December 12, 1856, in Stillman Valley, Illinois, to Joshua and Lucy Ann (Brown) White. His father, Joshua, served in the first Wisconsin Constitutional Convention of 1846 and in the Illinois House of Representatives.
Education and career
White received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois in 1880. Soon after graduation, White worked for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. In 1882, he moved to the Dakota Territory, although his reasons for doing so are unclear. According to the book Barnes County History, White departed for North Dakota at his father's request to look after land that he had acquired near Valley City; Clement Lounsberry's North Dakota History and People reports that White moved to North Dakota to look after land that he himself had purchased. Nonetheless, while at Valley City, White met Elsie Hadley, an Indiana native and maths instructor at Valley City State Normal School. The couple were married on September 19, 1894, in Indianapolis. The couple had one son, Edwin Lee White who was born in Valley City, North Dakota, on July 5, 1896. He was awarded the degree of L.L.D. in 1904 by the University of Illinois