William Gaston (Massachusetts politician)
William Gaston | |
---|---|
Massachusetts State Senate[1] | |
In office 1868–1868 | |
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives[1] | |
In office 1856–1856 | |
In office 1853–1854 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Boston, Massachusetts | October 3, 1820
Political party | Whig Democratic |
Alma mater | Brown University |
Profession | Lawyer |
Signature | |
William Gaston (October 3, 1820 – January 19, 1894) was a lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. A Democrat, he was the first member of that party to serve as Governor of Massachusetts (1875–1876) after the American Civil War. He was a successful trial lawyer and politically conservative Democrat, who won election as governor after his opponent, Thomas Talbot, vetoed legislation to relax alcohol controls.
Born in
Early years
Gaston was born on October 3, 1820, in
Gaston then moved to
In 1852, Gaston married Louisa Augusta Beecher. They were the parents of three children,[2] including William A. Gaston, who joined his law firm,[5] and also became a leader in the Democratic party, losing at runs for the governorship in 1902 and 1903.[1]
Roxbury and Boston politics
Gaston became involved in Roxbury city politics not long after settling there. He was elected to its common council from 1849 to 1853, serving as council president the last two years. He represented the city in the
In 1860, Gaston ran successfully for mayor of Roxbury, and won election again the following year. His moderate and fiscal conservative policies were popular, drawing Republican voters to his camp. He supported the Union cause during the American Civil War, raising troops at home and visiting them in the field. He resumed the private practice of law after his second term.[6]
During the 1860s the annexation of Roxbury to
Governor of Massachusetts
In 1873, Gaston ran for
During his term as governor, Gaston was widely viewed as moderate, "more patriot than partisan", as one Boston newspaper put it.[5] Gaston promoted the repeal of the state's prohibition law, replacing it with restrictions and licensing of alcohol sales determined by the cities and towns.[2] He also reduced the size of the state constabulary, which had enforced the old prohibition law. He came under criticism within his own party, however, for his failure to turn partisan Republican appointees out of their offices and replace them with Democratic stalwarts.[12]
Gaston's quest for a second term was ended by public outrage over his failure to sign the death warrant of convicted juvenile murderer Jesse Pomeroy. Pomeroy, then fourteen years old, had been convicted December 10, 1874, of first degree murder for the murder of Horace H. Millen April 22, 1874, and been sentenced to death. There was public clamor favoring his execution, especially after he attempted to escape from prison. Gaston, despite two rulings by the Governor's Council that clemency be denied, refused to sign the execution order. This was an unpopular move which likely contributed to his loss in the 1875 election. Republican Alexander H. Rice, who defeated Gaston in an otherwise lackluster campaign, also refused to sign the execution order, but his Council eventually recommended commutation of Pomeroy's sentence to life in solitary confinement.[13][14]
Later years
After his term as governor ended, Gaston returned to his law practice.
He served as president of the Boston Bar Association from 1880 to 1881.[18] He died in 1894, and is buried in Forest Hills Cemetery.[19]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Eliot (no page numbers)
- ^ a b c d e f g McFarland, p. 782
- ^ City of Boston, pp. 40-43
- ^ City of Boston, pp. 43-46
- ^ a b c Fuess, p. 182
- ^ City of Boston, pp. 49-52
- ^ Baum, p. 176
- ^ Baum, p. 187
- ^ Baum, pp. 192-194
- ^ Davis, p. 385
- ^ Kennedy, pp. 52-53
- ^ Baum, p. 202
- ^ Schechter, p. 257
- ^ Baum, pp. 201-203
- ^ McFarland, p. 783
- ^ "Lizzie Gannons Angels". New York Times. Vol. XXXII, no. 9852. April 4, 1883. p. 1.
- ^ "A psychic case in court". The Boston Globe. July 16, 1881. p. 1.
- ^ Bar Association of the City of Boston, p. 50
- ^ Sammarco, pp. 40-50
Bibliography
- Bar Association of the City of Boston (1919). Officers and Members of the Bar Association of the City of Boston. Boston. )
- Baum, Dale (1984). The Civil War Party System: The Case of Massachusetts, 1848-1876. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. OCLC 9970596.
- City of Boston (1895). A Memorial of William Gaston. Boston. )
- Davis, William (1895). Bench and Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Volume 1. Boston: The Boston History Company. OCLC 15711603.
- Eliot, Samuel Atkins (1911). Biographical History of Massachusetts: Biographies and Autobiographies of the Leading Men in the State, Volume 1. Boston: Massachusetts Biographical Society. OCLC 8185704.
- OCLC 37255176.
- Kennedy, Lawrence (Spring 2010). "Young Patrick A. Collins and Boston Politics after the Civil War". Historical Journal of Massachusetts. 38 (1): 38–59.
- McFarland, Gerald (1999). "Gaston, William". Dictionary of American National Biography. Vol. 8. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 782–783. OCLC 39182280.
- Sammarco, Anthony (2009). Forest Hills Cemetery. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. OCLC 677921414.
- Schechter, Harold (2012) [2000]. Fiend: The Shocking True Story of America's Youngest Serial Killer. New York: Simon & Schuster. OCLC 46847410.