William B. Washburn
William Barrett Washburn | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Washburn in circa 1860–1865 | |
| United States Senator from Massachusetts | |
| In office April 17, 1874 – March 3, 1875 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Sumner |
| Succeeded by | Henry L. Dawes |
| 28th Governor of Massachusetts | |
| In office January 4, 1872 – April 17, 1874 | |
| Lieutenant | Joseph Tucker Thomas Talbot |
| Preceded by | William Claflin |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Talbot as Acting Governor William Gaston |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 9th district | |
| In office March 4, 1863 – December 5, 1871 | |
| Preceded by | Amasa Walker |
| Succeeded by | Alvah Crocker |
| Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives | |
| In office 1853–1855 | |
| Member of the Massachusetts Senate | |
| In office 1850 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 31, 1820 Winchendon, Massachusetts, US |
| Died | October 5, 1887 (aged 67) Springfield, Massachusetts, US |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | Yale College |
| Signature |  |
William Barrett Washburn (January 31, 1820 – October 5, 1887) was an American businessman and
A Yale graduate, Washburn parlayed early business success in furniture manufacture into banking and railroads, based in the Connecticut River valley town of Greenfield. He was a major proponent of railroads in northern and western Massachusetts, sitting on the board of the Connecticut River Railroad for many years, and playing an oversight role in the construction of the Hoosac Tunnel. He has been described as a latter-day "Connecticut River God" because of his role as a leading regional businessman and politician.[1]
Early life
William Barrett Washburn was born on January 31, 1820, in Winchendon, Massachusetts, to Asa and Phoebe (Whitney) Washburn. His father was a hat maker from a family with deep colonial roots; Emory Washburn, who was governor of Massachusetts in 1854, was a distant cousin. Asa Washburn died in 1823.[2]
Washburn was educated in the academies at Hancock and Westminster, and then attended Yale College, graduating in 1844.[3] He was a member of the Skull and Bones Society.[4] He was employed as a store clerk from 1844 to 1847 in the business of his uncle in Orange. He established a chair factory in Erving, operating it from 1847 to 1857 and parlaying a $10,000 ($330,000 in 2023 dollars) investment into a wood products business whose annual production exceeded $150,000 ($4,910,000).[3] In 1849, he cofounded the Franklin County Trust Company, on whose board he sat until 1858.[5] He moved to Greenfield in 1857, where he was elected president of the Greenfield Bank (later the First National Bank), a post he would hold for the rest of his life.[6]
In 1847, Washburn married Hannah Sweetser of Athol; the couple had six children,[7] with four surviving to adulthood.[8]
Political career
Washburn won election to the
In 1871, Washburn ran for
The major event of 1872 during Washburn's tenure as governor was the
When United States Senator Charles Sumner died in March 1874, the state senate, which then chose the state's US senators, met to choose his replacement. After a long and contentious debate involving thirty-three ballots,[25] Washburn was chosen to succeed Sumner as a compromise candidate acceptable to supporters of Henry L. Dawes and George F. Hoar. Washburn then resigned the governorship, leaving Lieutenant Governor Thomas Talbot as acting governor.[26] Washburn served from April 17, 1874, until the term ended on March 3, 1875, and refused to run for reelection.[12]
Other activities
Not long after leaving the governorship, Washburn was appointed to a state commission established to investigate the finances and operations of the Hoosac Tunnel,[27] whose construction, originally estimated at $2 million ($70,000,000), had instead cost over $14 million ($390,000,000) and the financing and involvement of the state to complete.[28] This commission filed its report with the legislature in 1875.[27]
Washburn served at various times as a trustee of Yale, the
Washburn died in Springfield, Massachusetts, on October 5, 1887, while attending a session of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), of which he was a member. He was buried in Green River Cemetery in Greenfield.[1]
Notes
- ^ a b Roe, p. 660
- ^ Williams, pp. 34–35
- ^ a b Williams, p. 35
- Yale Banneris 1969."
- ^ Lockwood, p. 664
- ^ a b c McGee, p. 866
- ^ Hurd, p. 1068
- ^ Giddings, p. 503
- ^ Tager and Herman, p. 40
- ^ Clay, pp. 35–36
- ^ Baum (1984), p. 244
- ^ a b United States Congress. "Washburn, William Barrett (id: W000174)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- ^ Hart, pp. 4:588–589
- ^ West, pp. 349–350
- ^ Austin, pp. 543–545
- ^ Austin, pp. 547–548
- ^ Austin, pp. 552–553
- ^ West, pp. 350–351
- ^ Austin, pp. 545–549
- ^ Austin, pp. 550–552
- ^ Mohr, p. 6
- ^ Baum (1983), pp. 69–70
- ^ Mohr, p. 13
- ^ Blewett, p. 133
- ^ Roe, p. 659
- ^ Austin, p. 554
- ^ a b Austin, p. 557
- ^ Schiffler, p. 131
- ^ a b History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, p. 585
- ^ "Green Street: Washburn House". Smith College. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
- ^ The Baptist Home Mission Monthly, p. 303
References
- The Baptist Home Mission Monthly. New York: American Baptist Home Mission Society. 1887.
- History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts. Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts. 1879.
- Austin, George Lowell (1876). The History of Massachusetts: From the Landing of the Pilgrims to the Present Time. Boston: B. B. Russell. OCLC 3534448.
- Baum, Dale (March 1983). "Woman Suffrage and the "Chinese Question": The Limits of Radical Republicanism in Massachusetts, 1865–1876". The New England Quarterly. 56 (1): 69–70. JSTOR 365311.
- Baum, Dale (1984). The Civil War Party System: The Case of Massachusetts, 1848–1876. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9780807815885.
- Blewett, Mary (2000). Constant Turmoil: The Politics of Industrial Life in Nineteenth-century New England. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press. OCLC 247898378.
- Giddings, George (1890). American Christian rulers; or, Religion and men of government. New York: Bromfield. p. 502. OCLC 5929456.
- Hart, Albert Bushnell, ed. (1927). Commonwealth History of Massachusetts. New York: The States History Company. OCLC 1543273. (five volume history of Massachusetts until the early 20th century)
- Hurd, Duane (1889). History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Volume 2. Philadelphia: J.W. Lewis & Co. OCLC 3713110.
- Lockwood, John et al (eds) (1926). Western Massachusetts; a history, 1636–1925, Volume 2. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company.
{{cite book}}:|first=has generic name (help) - McGee, Francis; et al. (1904). History of Greenfield: Shire Town of Franklin County, Massachusetts, Volume 2. Greenfield, MA: T. Morey & Son. OCLC 832986027.
- Millegan, Kris (2003). Fleshing Out Skull and Bones: Investigations into America's Most Powerful Secret Society. Walterville, OR: Trine Day. ISBN 0-9720207-2-1.
- Mohr, James (1976). Radical Republicans in the North: State Politics During Reconstruction. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 9780801817748.
- Roe, Alfred (January 1902). "The Governors of Massachusetts". The New England Magazine. 25 (6). OCLC 1644447.
- Schiffler, Michael (2008). Power Struggles: Scientific Authority and the Creation of Practical Electricity Before Edison. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN 9780262195829.
- Tager, Jack; Herman, Jennifer (2008). Massachusetts Encyclopedia. St. Clair Shores, MI: Somerset Publishing. OCLC 198759722.
- West, Richard Sedgewick (1965). Lincoln's Scapegoat General: A Life of Benjamin F. Butler, 1818–1893. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. OCLC 241783.
- Williams, H. Clay, ed. (1883). Biographical Encyclopedia of Massachusetts in the 19th Century, Volume 2. Boston: Metropolitan Publishing and Engraving Company. OCLC 4952161.