Tuesday, December 07, 1999
Old Capitol was setting for tale of two governors
BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FRANKFORT — The historic oath of office Gov. Paul Patton took shortly after midnight today at the Old Capitol came at a site with an infamous and violent connection to Northern Kentucky.
Ninety-nine years ago, Covington Democrat William Goebel — the only Northern Kentuckian ever to serve as governor — was walking near the same building when he was mortally wounded by a single rifle shot. He died Feb. 3, 1900, becoming “the only governor in American history to die in office of wounds inflicted by an assassin,” according to the 1992 edition of The Kentucky Encyclopedia.
Though three men were convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder — including a Campbell County stenographer named Henry Youtsey — all three were eventually pardoned and the identity of the shooter has never been proved.
Mr. Goebel's election as governor was as intriguing and nearly as mysterious as his death.
Born in Pennsylvania in 1856 to German-born parents, Mr. Goebel was raised in Covington. He graduated from the Cincinnati Law School in 1877 and served in the Kentucky Senate from 1887 to 1900.
The Kentucky Encyclopedia describes him as a “complex, ambitious person (who) was denounced by some as a ruthless, heartless demagogue and hailed by others as a compassion ate, dedicated reformer.”
While in the General Assembly, Mr. Goebel pushed for expanded civil rights for women and blacks, tighter controls on railroads, fewer toll roads in the state and the abolition of pool halls and lotteries. He actually lost the 1900 governor's race to Republican William S. Taylor by a margin of fewer than 3,000 votes. But Democrats in Frankfort decided to investigate the election. After meeting in secret, the Democrats declared Mr. Goebel the winner by invalidating hundreds of Mr. Taylor's votes.
The Republicans and Mr. Taylor were incensed and refused to accept the Democrats' action, in essence giving the state two governments and nearly touching off a civil war within the state.
On Jan. 30, 1900, with the controversy raging, Mr. Goebel was approaching the Old Capitol when a shot was fired from a nearby building.
Critically wounded but alive, Mr. Goebel was sworn in to office as the 32nd governor on Jan. 30 but died four days later. He was replaced by Democratic Lt. Gov. J.C.W. Beckham.
Goebel Park in Covington is named for Mr. Goebel, and a statue of him stands near the entrance to the Old Capitol in Frankfort, which was replaced by the existing state Capitol in 1910.
Mr. Patton is the first governor in nearly 200 years to serve a consecutive term. Inauguration ceremonies are today.
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