Frederic Thomas Greenhalge | |
|---|---|
 Greenhalge in 1893 | |
| 38th Governor of Massachusetts | |
| In office January 4, 1894 – March 5, 1896 | |
| Lieutenant | Roger Wolcott |
| Preceded by | William E. Russell |
| Succeeded by | Roger Wolcott |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's8th district | |
| In office March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Herbert Allen |
| Succeeded by | Moses T. Stevens |
| Mayor ofLowell, Massachusetts | |
| In office 1880–1881 | |
| Member of theMassachusetts House of Representatives | |
| In office 1885 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Frederic Thomas Greenhalg (1842-07-19)July 19, 1842 Clitheroe,England,U.K. |
| Died | March 5, 1896(1896-03-05) (aged 53) Lowell,Massachusetts,U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Signature |  |
Frederic Thomas Greenhalge (bornGreenhalgh) (July 19, 1842 – March 5, 1896) was aBritish-born lawyer and politician in the United States state ofMassachusetts. He served in theUnited States House of Representatives and wasthe state's 38th governor. He was elected three consecutive times, but died early in his third term. He was the state's first foreign-born governor.
Frederic Thomas Greenhalge was born inClitheroe,Lancashire,England,U.K. on July 19, 1842, to William Greenhalgh and Jane (Slater) Greenhalgh.[1] He was the only son (of seven children).[2] His father, the supervisor of a printing operation, was descended from the Greenhalghs, a family of longstanding note in Lancashire.[3] The family moved first toEshton and thenEdenfield, where the young Greenhalge (who would change the spelling of his name as an adult) attended private school.[4] In 1855 the family immigrated toLowell, Massachusetts, where the father had been offered a job heading the printing department of theMerrimack Manufacturing Company.[5]
Greenhalge attended the public schools of Lowell, where he excelled academically and participated in debating societies.[6] In 1859, he enrolled inHarvard College, where he was a member of theInstitute of 1770[7] and was well regarded as a debater. He left Harvard after three years because his father died, the family finances having suffered a setback due mill closures caused by theAmerican Civil War.[8] He briefly taught school inChelmsford, Massachusetts, and studied law.[7] In 1863, he sought to enlist in theUnion Army, but was rejected on account of poor health. He instead secured a civilian job work as a commissary for the army atNew Bern, North Carolina. There he contractedmalaria, and was sent home in April 1864. He resumed his study of the law, was admitted to the bar in Lowell in 1865.[8]
On October 1, 1872, Greenhalge married Isabella (or Isabel) Nesmith, the daughter ofJohn Nesmith,Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts during the war. They had three children: Nesmith Greenhalge (1873–1874), Frederic B. Greenhalge (1875–?), and Harriet Nesmith Greenhalge (1878–?).
Greenhalge served on Lowell's common council in 1868 and 1869. He then became a member of the school committee in 1871, holding that post until 1873. In addition to his legal practice, he also served as a judge in the Lowell Police Court from 1874 to 1884. He was politically a reform-orientedRepublican, but supportedHorace Greeley in the1872 presidential election. That year, he also ran unsuccessfully for theMassachusetts Senate as aDemocrat.[8]
Greenhalge was elected mayor of Lowell in 1880 and 1881 and was an unsuccessful candidate for election to theMassachusetts Senate in 1881. He was a delegate to theRepublican National Convention in 1884 and a member of theMassachusetts House of Representatives in 1885 but was unsuccessful in his bid for reelection. He became city solicitor in 1888, practicing law inMiddlesex and other counties. He was elected as aRepublican to the Fifty-first Congress, serving from March 4, 1889, to March 3, 1891, but failed in 1890 to be re-elected to Congress, a casualty of that year's Democratic landslide.[9]
In 1893, Greenhalge ran forGovernor of Massachusetts. He was opposed for the Republican nomination byAlbert E. Pillsbury, a member of the reform-orientedMugwump wing of the party. Pillsbury was opposed by the powerful Senator-electHenry Cabot Lodge, and Greenhalge was chosen as a relatively safe candidate against the DemocratJohn E. Russell. Russell was not as popular as the outgoing Democratic governorWilliam E. Russell (no relation), and the Democrats were further hurt by the start of thePanic of 1893. Greenhalge won an easy victory. He was the state's first foreign-born governor.[9][10]
Greenhalge served in the office from January 1894, winning reelection until his death in 1896. While governor, the Commonwealth paid off its last public debt and he proclaimed the firstPatriots' Day, ending the 200-year-oldFast Day celebration in Massachusetts.[11] Perhaps his greatest test in office came in February 1894 when anangry mob of 5,000 gathered in front of the State House to demand unemployment subsidies; he came out of his office to address them and promise them relief, whereupon their anger subsided.
Greenhalge fell ill with kidney disease early into his third term as governor, and died in office on March 5, 1896;[12] businesses and schools closed in his honor. At his funeral SenatorHenry Cabot Lodge and Harvard PresidentCharles William Eliot served as pallbearers; he is buried inLowell Cemetery.
United States Congress."Frederic T. Greenhalge (id: G000431)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of Massachusetts 1893,1894,1895 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's 8th congressional district 1889–1891 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Massachusetts 1894–1896 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
