Henry Clay Ide

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Henry Clay Ide
Second Philippine Commission
In office
March 16, 1900 – September 19, 1906
Serving with William Howard Taft, Luke Edward Wright, Dean Conant Worcester, Bernard Moses
Appointed byWilliam McKinley
Preceded byNone (position created)
Succeeded byWilliam Morgan Shuster
Personal details
Born(1844-09-18)September 18, 1844
Barnet, Vermont
DiedJune 13, 1921(1921-06-13) (aged 76)
St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Resting placeMount Pleasant Cemetery, St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Political partyRepublican
SpouseMary M. Melcher (1844-1892) (m. 1871)
Children4
EducationDartmouth College
ProfessionAttorney
Signature

Henry Clay Ide (September 18, 1844 – June 13, 1921) was a

U.S. judge, colonial commissioner, ambassador, and Governor-General of the Philippines
.

Biography

Early life, States Attorney, Senator, and Presidential Commissioner to Samoa

Ide was born in

Jonathan Ross, and was admitted to the bar in 1870.[1] He practiced law in St. Johnsbury, Vermont from until 1891, and was the partner of Wendell Phillips Stafford.[2][3][4] Among the prospective attorneys who studied law in their office was William H. Taylor, who later served as an Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court.[5]

A

Vermont State Senate.[6]

President Benjamin Harrison appointed Ide Presidential Commissioner to Samoa in 1891. The formal title of the post was American Land Commissioner in Samoa, one of three representatives (of the United States, Germany, and Great Britain) responsible for adjudicating land claims by foreigners in the islands, as provided for in the Treaty of Berlin (1889). Ide reached Apia on May 16, 1891, but only held the office for six months, until he resigned because of a serious illness in his family and left the islands on November 12, 1891. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote to him two days beforehand, saying "I hear with great regret of your departure. They say there are as good fish in the sea as ever came out of it, but I doubt if they will come to our hook. It is not only that you have shown so much capacity, moderation, tact, and temper; but you have had the talent to make these gifts recognized and appreciated among our very captious population. For my part, I always thought your presence the best thing that the treaty had brought us."[7][8]

Ide returned to the islands in 1893 as Chief Justice, another position provided for by the Treaty of Berlin. He accepted the appointment in August, and sailed for the islands two months later. As Chief Justice, Ide presided over trials of both native Samoans and foreign nationals of the three Treaty of Berlin signatories. He also had the power to recommend criminal and taxation legislation to the government of Samoa.[7] He resigned in 1896, but there was a delay in the arrival of his successor, requiring him to continue in office until 1897.[6] At his departure, the Samoa Weekly Herald editorialized that Ide had been a just and able judge. Similarly, King Malietoa told Ide that "You will not be forgotten in Samoa, you will be remembered as the good Chief Justice who knew our ways and laws and customs and who was kind to us".[7][8]

Ide was succeeded as Land Commissioner and Chief Justice by William Lea Chambers.[9]

Presidential Commissioner to the Philippines

Ide (at right) along with two fellow Philippine Commissioners Luke Edward Wright (left), and William Howard Taft (centre), in 1901[10]

Ide was one of the Commissioners of the Taft Commission, appointed in 1900.[11][12] Like the other Commissioners, he arrived in the Philippines in June of that year,[13] and assumed official legislative power on 1900-09-01.[11]

In 1901, Ide and the other commissioners gained executive power when they were appointed to the cabinet of territorial Governor William Howard Taft. Ide was appointed Secretary of Finance and Justice, and served until 1904.[14][15][6]

Ide was appointed Vice-Governor of the Philippines in 1904.[6][11] In November 1905 he became Acting Governor General after Luke Wright, then Governor General, took leave.[6][14] Wright formally resigned in April 1906, and Ide formally succeeded him Governor-General.[14]

Ide was Governor-General until September,

Manila Times) praised Ide and his work, and stated that "in his social relations, Mr. Ide has reestablished the good times of Taft, which the latter's successor tried to make us forget".[16]

Ambassador

Ide served as

minister to Spain
1909–1913.

Family, personal life, and business affairs

On October 26, 1871 Ide married Mary M. Melcher, daughter of Joseph and Sophia Melcher of Stoughton, Massachusetts. They had four children before her death in 1892: Adelaide (Addie) M., Annie L., Harry J. and Mary M.[17][18][19]

During his time on Samoa, Ide became friends with

Christmas Day and so having no birthday celebration separate from the family's Christmas celebrations. Stevenson drew up a formal deed of gift, properly sealed and witnessed as a legal document, and then published in the press, donating his birthday to Ide's daughter.[20][22][23] The daughter and Stevenson corresponded further on the matter in November 1891, with Stevenson assuring her that "I am sure [your father] will tell you this is sound law." The affair was the root of a strong bond between the Ide and Stevenson families.[20]

Anne H. Ide, who was known as "Levei-malo" to the Samoans, married William Bourke Cockran in 1906, becoming his third wife.[23][24][25] In 1912, his daughter Marjorie married Shane Leslie, a first cousin of Winston Churchill.

Death

Ide died in St. Johnsbury, Vermont on 13 June 1921.[3][4][26] His body was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in St. Johnsbury.[27]

References

  1. ^ Crockett, Walter Hill (1921). Vermont: The Green Mountain State. Vol. 4. New York, NY: Century History Company. p. 215.
  2. ISBN 9780313260247
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 9780684160412
    .
  4. ^ a b Prentiss Cutler Dodge (1912). "Ide, Henry Clay". Encyclopedia, Vermont biography: a series of authentic biographical sketches of the representative men of Vermont and sons of Vermont in other states. Burlington: Ullery publishing company. p. 233.
  5. ^ Cummings, Charles R. (November 1906). "The New Judiciary System: The Board of Superior Judges; William H. Taylor". The Vermonter. White River Junction, VT: Chas. R. Cummings. p. 296.
  6. ^
    ISBN 9780313267888
    .
  7. ^ a b c American Council of Learned Societies (1959). "Ide, Henry C.". Dictionary of American Biography. Vol. 5 (Hibben–Larkin). Scribner. p. 458.
  8. ^ a b George Herbert Ryden (1933). The foreign policy of the United States in relation to Samoa. Yale historical publications. Vol. 24. Yale University Press. pp. 533–534, 540–541.
  9. ISBN 9780826213150
    .
  10. ISBN 9780756502737
    .
  11. ^
    ISBN 9780559703027
    .
  12. ISBN 9781406744644
    .
  13. ISBN 9780822338437
    .
  14. ^
    ISBN 9781426458507
    .
  15. ISBN 9789715502610
    .
  16. ^
    ISBN 9789715504393
    .
  17. ^ "Biography of Henry Clay IDE". Illustrated Biographical History of Vermonters & Sons of Vermont. Ullery. Brattleboro: Transcript Publishing Company, p 218. 1894.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  18. ^ Selected Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson, ed. by Ernest Mehew (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2001)
  19. ^ "Bound for Samoa: New Chief Justice and Land Commissioner, Both from America". The Daily bulletin. Honolulu, Hawaii. October 27, 1893. p. 3.
  20. ^
    ISSN 0035-838X
    .
  21. ISBN 9780754635062
    .
  22. ^ a b Joseph Waldo Ellison (1953). Tusitala of the South Seas: the story of Robert Louis Stevenson's life in the South Pacific. Hastings House. pp. 179–180.
  23. ^ a b The Philadelphia North America (July 24, 1906). "MISS IDE'S BIRTHDAY.; Robert Louis Stevenson Gave Her His — Mr. Roosevelt Has the Reversion". The New York Times. p. 6.
  24. ^ "A Samoan Girl's Letter". The Outlook. Vol. 61. Outlook Co. 1899. p. 226.
  25. ISBN 9780198126843
    .
  26. ^ "Ide, Henry Clay". Encyclopedia Americana. Vol. 14. Americana Corp. 1966. p. 660.
  27. ^ VOCA (2015). "Mount Pleasant Cemetery, St. Johnsbury". www.voca58.org/. Burlington, VT: Vermont Old Cemetery Association.

Further reading

  • William H. Jeffrey and E. Burke (1904). "Ide, Henry C.". Successful Vermonters. Vermont: The Historical Publishing Company. pp. 17–19.
    • republished as: William H. Jeffrey (January 2003). "Henry C. Ide". Successful Vermonters. Tom Dunn.
  • Jacob Ullery (1894). "Henry C. Ide". Men of Vermont: Illustrated Biographical History of Vermonters & Sons of Vermont. Brattleboro: Transcript Publishing Company. p. 218.
  • Leslie, Mrs. Shane - Girlhood in the Pacific Samoa-Philippines-Spain London MacDonald undated c.1943 The memoirs of Ide's daughter Marjorie.
  • Arthur F. Stone (1935). The Life of Henry Clay Ide. Bighampton, N.Y.: Vail-Ballou Press.

Ide's published works

  • Henry C. Ide (June 1899). "The imbroglio in Samoa". The North American Review. 168 (511). University of Northern Iowa.
  • Henry C. Ide (December 1907). "Philippine Problems". The North American Review. 186 (625). University of Northern Iowa: 510–524.
    JSTOR 25106039
    .
Political offices
Preceded by
Luke E. Wright
 Governor-General of the Philippines
1905–1906 		Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
U.S. Minister to Spain

1909–1913 		Succeeded by
Joseph E. Willard
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