Godwin Volney Dorsey was a Democrat and later Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 politician in the state of Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

 and was Ohio State Treasurer

Ohio State Treasurer

-List of Ohio State Treasurers:...

 from 1862-1865.

Godwin Dorsey was born November 17, 1812 at Oxford

Oxford, Ohio

Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States, in the southwestern portion of the state. It lies in Oxford Township, originally called the College Township. The population was 21,943 at the 2000 census. This college town was founded as a home for Miami University. Oxford...

 Butler County, Ohio

Butler County, Ohio

Butler County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of 2010, the population was 368,130. Its county seat is Hamilton. It is named for General Richard Butler, who died in 1791 fighting Indians in northern Ohio. Butler's army marched out of Fort Hamilton, where the city of...

. He graduated from Miami University

Miami University

Miami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...

, and from the Ohio Medical College in 1836. He then settled in Piqua, Ohio

Piqua, Ohio

Piqua is a city in Miami County, Ohio, United States. The population was 20,738 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area.Piqua was one of the cities that experienced severe flooding during the Great Dayton Flood of 1913....

.

Presidential elector in 1848 for Cass

Lewis Cass

Lewis Cass was an American military officer and politician. During his long political career, Cass served as a governor of the Michigan Territory, an American ambassador, a U.S. Senator representing Michigan, and co-founder as well as first Masonic Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan...

/Butler

William Orlando Butler

William Orlando Butler was a U.S. political figure and U.S. Army major general from Kentucky. He served as a Democratic congressman from Kentucky from 1839 to 1843, and was the Democratic vice-presidential nominee under Lewis Cass in 1848.-Early life:Butler was born in Jessamine County, Kentucky,...

. He was a Democratic delegate to the 1850 Ohio Constitutional Convention, and a member of the Democratic National Convention in 1856. In 1859, he ran for Ohio State Auditor

Ohio State Auditor

The Ohio State Auditor is responsible for auditing all the public offices of the state of Ohio. The auditor is elected to a four-year term. The current Auditor is Dave Yost....

, but lost to Republican Robert Walker Tayler, Sr.

Robert Walker Tayler, Sr.

Robert Walker Tayler, Sr. was a Republican politician in the U.S. State of Ohio who was a member of the Ohio Senate and was Ohio State Auditor 1860–1863....

.

Dorsey was elected as Ohio State Treasurer as a Republican in 1861 and 1863 and was a member of the Republican National Convention in 1864. David Tod

David Tod

David Tod was a politician and industrialist from the U.S. state of Ohio. As the 25th Governor of Ohio, Tod gained recognition for his forceful and energetic leadership during the American Civil War....

 was Elector-at-large in 1868 for Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

/Colfax

Schuyler Colfax

Schuyler Colfax, Jr. was a United States Representative from Indiana , Speaker of the House of Representatives , and the 17th Vice President of the United States . To date, he is one of only two Americans to have served as both House speaker and vice president.President Ulysses S...

. He died before the meeting of electors, and was replaced by Dorsey.

He died in Piqua May 15, 1885.