George P. Wetmore | |
|---|---|
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| United States Senator fromRhode Island | |
| In office March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1907 | |
| Preceded by | Nathan F. Dixon III |
| Succeeded by | Vacant, failure to elect |
| In office January 22, 1908 – March 3, 1913 | |
| Preceded by | Vacant, failure to elect |
| Succeeded by | Lebaron B. Colt |
| 37th Governor of Rhode Island | |
| In office May 26, 1885 – May 29, 1887 | |
| Lieutenant | Lucius B. Darling |
| Preceded by | Augustus O. Bourn |
| Succeeded by | John W. Davis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1846-08-02)August 2, 1846 |
| Died | September 11, 1921(1921-09-11) (aged 75) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent(s) | William Shepard Wetmore Anstiss Derby Rogers |
| Alma mater | Yale College |
George Peabody Wetmore (August 2, 1846 – September 11, 1921) was an American politician who was the 37thgovernor ofRhode Island. He later served as aUnited States senator for the same state.
George Peabody Wetmore was born in London, England, during a visit of his parents,William Shepard Wetmore, a wealthy Yankee trader, and Anstiss Derby Rogers, abroad.[1] He received his early education at the private schools of Messrs. Reed and Thurston and of the Rev. William C. Leverett inNewport, Rhode Island. His great-grandfather was politicianBenjamin Pickman Jr., who served as a Congressman from Massachusetts. His second great-grandfather was the merchantElias Hasket Derby, and Derby's wife, Elizabeth Crowninshield Derby, was a member of the prominentCrowninshield family.
He graduated fromYale College in 1867, where he was a member ofSkull and Bones.[2]: 104 After graduation, he studied for two years at theColumbia Law School. He received the degree of LL.B. in 1869, and was admitted to thebars of Rhode Island and New York the same year, although he never practiced.[3]
Wetmore had always taken an active interest in politics and in 1880 and 1884 was apresidential elector. He was electedGovernor of Rhode Island in 1885 and served two terms, but was defeated for a third term. He was a member of the commission which oversaw construction of the newRhode Island State House atProvidence.[3]
In 1894 he was elected as aRepublican to theUnited States Senate, receiving the unanimous vote of theGeneral Assembly in Senate, House, and joint convention. He was re-elected in 1900 and served from March 4, 1895, to March 3, 1907.
In 1907, he was challenged for his seat by another Republican, industrialistSamuel P. Colt. The three-way contest between Wetmore, Colt andDemocratRobert Hale Ives Goddard resulted in months of deadlocked ballots and a vacant seat in Rhode Island's delegation to the60th Congress beginning on March 4, 1907. Eventually Colt withdrew, and Wetmore returned to the Senate on January 22, 1908, and served until March 3, 1913. Colt's brother,LeBaron B. Colt, was elected to succeed Wetmore upon Wetmore's retirement from the Senate.[3]
In the Senate, Wetmore was, first, chairman of the Committee on Manufactures, and then chairman of the Joint Committee on the Library for sixteen years. He was also a member of the Appropriations, District of Columbia, Naval Affairs, Public Buildings and Grounds, and other committees. His last term in the Senate ended March 3, 1913.[4]
He had a deep interest in the building up of theNavy and the development of the naval base inNarragansett Bay. He served as chairman of the joint commission appointed by Congress to prepare plans for the completion of theUnited States Capitol in Washington; was chairman of the firstLincoln Memorial Commission and a member of the commission that erected the National Lincoln Memorial in Washington; and was a member of theGrant Memorial Commission, as well as many others for the erection of statues and memorials. He was greatly interested in the improvement and development of Washington and the District of Columbia on a definite artistic plan, and was particularly identified with the legislation creating theNational Commission of Fine Arts.[4]
In private life Mr. Wetmore was for many years associated with various organizations for promoting the fine arts. He was one of the organizers of theMetropolitan Opera in New York and a member of the committee in charge of the construction of the Metropolitan Opera House. He was a trustee of thePeabody Museum of Natural History atYale and of thePeabody Education Fund. In 1888 he was nominated as aFellow of the University, but declined to have his name considered. He was one of the founders of the Jockey Club, vice president of the National Horse Show Association of America, and a director of other organizations for improving the breeding of horses.[4]
At his home in Newport he was a trustee of theRedwood Library and Athenaeum, president and a trustee of theNewport Hospital, and president of theNewport Reading Room and theNewport Casino. In 1877 he was admitted as a member of the MassachusettsSociety of the Cincinnati.[4]
On December 22, 1869, he was married to Edith Malvina Keteltas (1848–1927) in New York City. Her father, Eugene Keteltas, had been a member of the Yale College Class of 1822, but left before graduating and instead graduated fromUnion College in 1822.[5] Her grandfather, Philip Doddridge Keteltas, was Yale 1792, her great-grandfather, Rev. Abraham Keteltas, was Yale 1752, and her great-great-grandfather, William Smith, was Yale 1719.[6]
Edith Keteltas Wetmore's brother was Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Henry Keteltas who served in theAmerican Civil War as a captain in the15th United States Infantry. He was wounded and received two brevets (honorary promotions) for gallantry in action during the war. His sword is preserved and on display at the Chateau-sur-Mer mansion in Newport.
Mr. and Mrs. Wetmore, who were included inWard McAllister's "Four Hundred", were the parents of four children, two sons who died and two daughters that lived together at the family's Newport estate until their deaths:[1]
His first cousin, once removed, Mary Toppan Pickman, married Massachusetts Congressman and diplomatGeorge B. Loring.
Mr. Wetmore died September 11, 1921, inBoston. His funeral was held atTrinity Church in Newport, and he was buried in Newport'sIsland Cemetery.[4]
George Wetmore's estate inNewport Rhode Island,Chateau-sur-Mer, is today owned by thePreservation Society of Newport County and is open for tours during the summer. It is considered one of the best surviving examples of a Victorian mansion.
Wetmore was also a litigant in the Supreme Court of the United States decision:George Peabody Wetmore v. Tennessee Copper Company, 218 US 369 (1910).[7]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of Rhode Island 1885,1886,1887 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Rhode Island 1885–1887 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 2) from Rhode Island March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1907 January 22, 1908 – March 3, 1913 | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
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| Class 2 | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
