James H. Higgins
James H. Higgins | ||
---|---|---|
Lieutenant Frederick H. Jackson | | |
Preceded by | George H. Utter | |
Succeeded by | Aram J. Pothier | |
Member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives | ||
In office 1901 | ||
Personal details | ||
Born | Lincoln, Rhode Island | January 22, 1876|
Died | September 16, 1927 Pawtucket, Rhode Island | (aged 51)|
Resting place | St. Mary's Cemetery, Pawtucket, Rhode Island | |
Political party | Democratic | |
Spouse | Ellen F. Maguire | |
Alma mater | Brown University, Georgetown University | |
James Henry Higgins (January 22, 1876 – September 16, 1927) was an American politician and the 50th Governor of Rhode Island from 1907 to 1909.
Biography
Origins and education
James Henry Higgins was born on January 22, 1876, in the village of Saylesville in Lincoln, Rhode Island. His parents, Thomas F. and Elizabeth Ann Mather died while he was young. James attended Pawtucket High School, and put himself through Brown University, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1898. He studied law at Georgetown University Law Center and graduated in 1900, before returning to Rhode Island.
Political career
In 1901, Higgins was elected to the Rhode Island General Assembly, representing Pawtucket. The next year, at the age of 26, he was elected to the first of four consecutive terms as mayor of Pawtucket.
1906 gubernatorial campaign
In 1906, Higgins was nominated as the
After a campaign which seized on public discontent with the influence of
Governor of Rhode Island
Higgins was sworn into office on January 3, 1907. In his inaugural speech, he built upon the themes of his campaign, warning that "the evils of lobbying" had compromised the state government to "a disgraceful extent," and that the power of lobbying had become "an exclusive and oppressive monopoly" in the hand of Brayton, a "coarse and venal boss" who was operating out of the
In March 1907, Higgins wrote an open letter about Brayton to White: "Year in and year out he has occupied and used your office for his vile purposes, with your knowledge and consent ... clean this moral and political pest out of your office." White took no action, but in July Brayton resigned from the Executive Committee of the State Central Committee of the Republican Party.[5][6]
In November 1907, Higgins won a second one-year term over a challenge by Republican
Later life
In November, 1908, Higgins married Ellen F. Maguire of Pawtucket. In 1912, he ran unsuccessfully as a Democratic candidate in the
Higgins died September 16, 1927. He is buried at St. Mary's Cemetery in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
Notes
- ^ Shaw, Albert (July–December 1906), American Monthly Review of Reviews, Vol. XXXIV, p. 522
- ^ "Rhode Island Elects Democratic Governor". The New York Times. November 8, 1906. p. 3. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
- ^ "Rhode Island Lobby Menace". The New York Times. January 4, 1907. p. 6. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
- ^ "Rhode Island's Despot: Something About the Man Who for Many Years Has Ruled the Little Commonwealth with a Rod of Iron". The New York Times. February 23, 1907. p. SM11. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
- ^ "Higgins Flays Brayton: Directs Sheriff Not to Let Republican Boss Use His Office". The New York Times. March 8, 1907. p. 2. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
- ^ "Brayton Resigns: Higgins Succeeds in Ousting Rhode Island Republican Boss". The New York Times. July 5, 1907. p. 4. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
- ^ "Rhode Island Governor James Henry Higgins". National Governors Association. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
- ^ "Peter Gerry for Congress: Rhode Island Democrats Nominate Theodore Green for Governor". The New York Times. October 11, 1912. p. 10. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
References
- "Pawtucket's Boy Mayor is Named for Governor: He isn't 30 years old yet". The New York Times. October 4, 1906. p. 4. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
- Marquis, Albert Nelson (1915), Who's Who in New England, A. N. Marquis, p. 539
- Dodd, Mead & Company, p. 682