George Coe (Michigan politician)

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George Alonzo Coe (August 16, 1811 – October 21, 1869) was an American politician from Michigan who served as the 11th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan from 1855 to 1859 under Governor Kinsley S. Bingham. He was the first Republican to hold that office.

Earlier in his career, Coe served in the Michigan Legislature. He was in the State Senate from 1846 to 1847, representing the 4th district in 1846 and the 3rd district in 1847. He also served in the Michigan House of Representatives in 1849 for the Branch County district, serving with Oliver C. Comstock.

Born in Rush, New York, Coe moved to Illinois as a youth and grew up on his father’s farm. He later attended school, taught school, and studied law with Judge Pratt in Rochester, New York. He began practicing law in Coldwater, Michigan, in 1839. In 1856 he formed a law partnership with future congressman Charles Upson.

Coe was a delegate to the 1856 Republican National Convention from Michigan, which nominated John C. Fremont. He left the Lieutenant Governor’s office in 1859 and returned to his legal practice. He died in Coldwater, Michigan, on October 21, 1869, at age 58, and is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery. He was affiliated with the Whig and later the Republican parties and was a descendant of Robert Coe.