John Coit Spooner
John Coit Spooner | |
---|---|
William F. Vilas | |
In office March 4, 1897 – April 30, 1907 | |
Preceded by | William F. Vilas |
Succeeded by | Isaac Stephenson |
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the St. Croix district | |
In office January 1, 1872 – January 1, 1873 | |
Preceded by | Revel K. Fay |
Succeeded by | David C. Fulton |
Personal details | |
Born | Lawrenceburg, Indiana, U.S. | January 6, 1843
Died | June 11, 1919 New York City, U.S. | (aged 76)
Resting place | Forest Hill Cemetery Madison, Wisconsin |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse |
Annie Elizabeth Main
(m. 1868) |
Children | 4, including Philip |
Relatives | Philip L. Spooner Jr. (brother) |
Education | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
Signature | |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Volunteers Union Army |
Years of service | 1864–1866 |
Rank | |
Unit | |
Battles/wars | American Civil War |
John Coit Spooner (January 6, 1843 – June 11, 1919) was a politician and lawyer from
Early life
Spooner was born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, on January 6, 1843, the son of Philip Loring Spooner and Lydia (Coit) Spooner.[1] Philip Spooner was an attorney and judge and served on the bench in both Indiana and Wisconsin.[2] Spooner moved with his parents to Madison, Wisconsin, in 1859.[3] He attended the common schools and graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a Bachelor of Philosophy (Philosophiae Baccalaureus, or P.B.) degree in 1864.[4][a] While in college, Spooner joined the Psi Upsilon fraternity[5] and was admitted to membership in Phi Beta Kappa.[6]
Military service
During the
Start of career
After the war, Spooner served as private secretary to Wisconsin Governor Lucius Fairchild,[8] and then the governor's military secretary with the rank of colonel[9] He later served as quartermaster general of the Wisconsin Militia with the rank of brigadier general.[10] He studied law with his father from 1865 to 1867, and he was admitted to the bar in 1867.[9]
After becoming a lawyer, Spooner was appointed assistant attorney general of Wisconsin and he served from 1869 to 1870.[9] In 1869, Spooner received the honorary degree of Master of Arts from the University of Wisconsin.[11][12] Spooner moved to Hudson in 1870, and practiced law there from 1870 to 1884.[7] He established himself in the field of railroad and corporation law, and served as counsel for the West Wisconsin Railway and Chicago, St. Paul and Minneapolis Railway.[9]
Spooner was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1872.[3] He was a member of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents from 1882 to 1886.[3]
United States Senator
He was elected as a
In 1888 and again in 1892, Spooner was a delegate to the Republican National Convention and was the chairman of Wisconsin's delegation.[14] Spooner was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for governor of Wisconsin in 1892.[9] After his election defeat, he moved to Madison and resumed practicing law in 1893.[9]
In 1897, Spooner was elected to the U.S. Senate, succeeding Vilas.[9] He was reelected in 1903,[9] and served from 1897 until his resignation in 1907.[13] He served as chairman of the Committee on Canadian Relations from 1897 to 1899 and of the Committee on Rules from 1899 to 1907.[13]
As a Senator, Spooner was credited with the
Spooner and fellow Wisconsin Senator,
Direct primaries would destroy the party machinery ... and would build up a lot of personal machines, and would make every man a self-seeker, and would degrade politics by turning candidacies into bitter personal wrangles.[18]
Spooner shocked the state of Wisconsin and much of the American political world with his sudden resignation in March 1907. In his letter to the Governor, he explained that he felt the need to return to the legal profession in order to build a financial cushion to provide for his retirement and his heirs. He also noted that he had only two years left in his term and did not plan to seek re-election anyway.[19] Members of the political media also speculated that Spooner had timed his resignation to catch the La Follette faction off guard and unprepared for a Senate campaign.[20]
On hearing of his resignation, President Roosevelt remarked, "I can not sufficiently express my regret at Senator Spooner's resignation. We lose one of the ablest, most efficient, most fearless, and most upright public servants that the nation has had."[21]
Later life
After his retirement from the Senate, he practiced law in New York City.[22][23] In 1910, Spooner and Joseph P. Cotton formed the firm of Spooner & Cotton, where Spooner practiced until his death.[22][23]
Death and burial
Spooner died on June 11, 1919, at his home on
Awards and honors
The town of Spooner, Wisconsin was named in his honor. Spooner received the honorary degree of LL.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1894.[11] He also received honorary LL.D. degrees from Yale University in 1908[26] and Columbia University (1909).[27]
Family
In 1868, Spooner married Annie Main of Madison.[14] They were the parents of four children, three of whom lived to adulthood[14]—Charles Philip Spooner (1869–1947), Willet Main Spooner (1871–1928), John C. Spooner (1877–1881), and Philip Loring Spooner (1879–1945).[24]
Notes
- ^ Many sources incorrectly state that Spooner received a Ph.D. This appears to be a misreading of the abbreviation for his bachelor's degree, which was occasionally abbreviated as B.Ph. or Ph.B.
See also
References
- ^ Gates, Merrill Edwards (1905). Men of Mark in America. Washington, DC: Mn of Mark Publishing Company. p. 318 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b Men of Mark in America, p. 318.
- ^ a b c d "Historical Essay: John Coit Spooner (1843–1919)". Wisconsin History.org. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Historical Society. August 3, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
- ^ University of Wisconsin (1867). Catalogue of the University of Wisconsin for the Academic Year 1866–67. Madison, WI: State Journal Book and Job Printing House. p. 46.
- ^ Wertheimer, Leo Weldon, ed. (1917). General Catalogue of the Psi Upsilon Fraternity. Indianapolis, IN: Psi Upsilon Fraternity. p. 692 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Morgan, Bayard Quincy, ed. (1917). Catalogue, Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha of Wisconsin. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin. pp. 79, 84 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Berryman, John R., ed. (1898). History of the bench and bar of Wisconsin. Vol. 2. Chicago: H. C. Cooper, Jr. pp. 381–399. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
- ^
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Men of Mark in America, p. 319.
- ^ Wisconsin Secretary of State (1869). The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin. Madison, WI: Atwood & Rublee, State Printers. p. 195 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Thwaites, Reuben Gold (1900). "Biography, John C. Spooner". Biographical Sketches of Representative Alumni. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Electronic Reader. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
- ^ Loeb, Max (1907). General Catalogue of the Officers and Graduates of the University of Wisconsin, 1849–1907 (PDF). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin. p. 56 – via Library of Congress.
- ^ ISBN 9780872891241 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d e Men of Mark in America, p. 320.
- ^ New York Times. New York, NY. June 11, 1919. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7627-5358-1 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Ranney, Joseph A. (March 7, 2012). "Great Wisconsin lawyers: John C. Spooner". History of the Courts. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Court System.
- ^ Eigen's Political & Historical Quotations Archived August 30, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^
- ^ Yale University (1914). Directory of the Living Graduates of Yale University. Meriden, CT: The Curtiss-Way Co. p. 403 – via HathiTrust.
- ^ Committee on the General Catalogue (1916). Catalogue of Officers and Graduates of Columbia University. New York, NY: Columbia University. p. 1097 – via HathiTrust.
Further reading
- Fowler, Dorothy Ganfield. John Coit Spooner: Defender of Presidents (1961) scholarly biography
- Parker, James Richard. "Senator John C. Spooner, 1897-1907" (PhD dissertation, University of Maryland; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 1972. 7229414).
- Parker, James R. "Paternalism and Racism: Senator John C. Spooner and American Minorities, 1897-1907." Wisconsin Magazine of History (1974): 195–200. online
External links
- United States Congress. "John Coit Spooner (id: S000741)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2008-02-15
- "John Coit Spooner". Find a Grave. Retrieved February 15, 2008.