John Isaac Guion

John Isaac Guion (November 18, 1802 – June 6, 1855) was an American politician from Mississippi who served as Governor in 1851.

John Isaac Guion
17th Governor of Mississippi
In office February 3, 1851 – November 4, 1851
Preceded by	John A. Quitman
Succeeded by	James Whitfield
Member of the Mississippi State Senate
In office 1842–1851
Personal details
Born	(1802-11-18)November 18, 1802 Adams County, Mississippi Territory, U.S.
Died	June 6, 1855(1855-06-06) (aged 52) Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.

Painting of Guion on display at the Old Warren County Courthouse

Biography

Guion was born in Adams County in the Mississippi Territory. He studied law in Lebanon, Tennessee, was admitted to the bar, and established a successful practice in Vicksburg, Mississippi. He practiced in partnership with William L. Sharkey and later with Seargent Smith Prentiss.

A Democrat in politics, Guion was first elected to the Mississippi State Senate in 1842. He later moved to Jackson, and continued to serve in the State Senate.

Guion supported slavery and states' rights. As a result, he played a prominent role in the Jackson convention of 1849, which was called to discuss how the Southern states should respond to the possibility of California being admitted to the union as a free state.

In 1850 Guion was chosen to serve as the Senate's President pro tempore. In February 1851, Governor John A. Quitman resigned to defend himself against charges of aiding in filibustering expeditions against Spanish rule in Cuba. Guion became acting governor and served until November when his Senate term expired. He had not run for reelection, and the Speaker of the Mississippi House had also not. Since no one in the line of succession could assume the governorship, the legislature subsequently chose James Whitfield as an interim replacement, and he served until the term of the new governor started in 1852.

Guion had not run for reelection to the State Senate because he had run for the Mississippi District Circuit Court judge in Jackson. He began his term as scheduled and served until his death. He died on June 6, 1855, and was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Jackson.

References

• John Isaac Guion at National Governors Association
• General Tour Information (including burial information for John Isaac Guion) at Greenwood Cemetery
• Sansing, David G. (December 1, 2003). "John Isaac Guion: Seventeenth Governor of Mississippi: February 1851 to November 1851". Mississippi History Now. Mississippi Historical Society.