William Elbridge Sewell | |
|---|---|
| 6th Naval Governor of Guam | |
| In office February 6, 1903 – January 11, 1904 | |
| Preceded by | Seaton Schroeder |
| Succeeded by | Frank Herman Schofield |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 16, 1851 |
| Died | March 17, 1904(1904-03-17) (aged 52) |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1867–1904 |
| Rank |  Commander |
| Commands | USSAlarm;Mare Island Observatory;USSSupply |
| Battles/wars | Battle of Santiago de Cuba |
William Elbridge Sewell (November 16, 1851 – March 17, 1904) was aUnited States NavyLieutenant Commander and the 6th NavalGovernor of Guam from February 9, 1903, until he returned to the mainland United States for medical treatment on January 11, 1904. He was born inColchester, New York, and appointed to theUnited States Naval Academy from that state in 1867. He served on numerous ships before becoming anensign, and eventually becameexecutive officer orcommanding officer of a series of ships and installations. He then became commanding officer of theGuam flagship, and soon after, governor of Guam. As governor, he initiated a series of tax and legal reforms, including many that restored the rights of the native population to practice their culture more freely. He legalized and taxed alcohol and set up a court system that lasted 30 years. In January 1904, he fell ill from intestinal troubles and was transported toCalifornia for treatment, where he died while still in office.
Sewell was born November 16, 1851, inColchester, New York.[1] He married Minnie Moore on October 14, 1890, and had three daughters. His wife died in 1901 when their children were still young.[1] InGuam, Sewell became seriously ill with an intestinal disorder, and was brought toSan Francisco, California, for treatment aboardUSS Supply.[2] He arrived inCalifornia on March 1, 1904, and died shortly after on March 17.[3] His daughterHelen Sewell later became a famous children's book illustrator.[2] Another of his daughters,Marjorie Sewell Cautley, became an acclaimedlandscape architect.[4]
Sewell was appointed to theUnited States Naval Academy in 1867 byCongressmanWilliam C. Fields. He graduated the academy in 1871.[1] His first post after graduation was aboardUSS Congress, where served on a mission to deliver supplies to thePolaris expedition and then to receive a visiting Russian fleet. He then participated in the escort ofHornet, afilibuster vessel, out of a Spanish blockade inPort-au-Prince that aimed to capture it.[1]Congress joined theEuropean Squadron, and Sewell was transferred toUSS Plymouth, where he served for seven months before being transferred once again toUSS Wabash. He remained there thirteen months before being reposted back toCongress.[1]
Following theVirginius Affair,Congress sailed toKey West, where Sewell took part in several drills and exercises on theFlorida Bay before returning toNorfolk, Virginia, aboardUSS Ticonderoga. There he became anensign and began assisting in deep-sea exploration andsounding of theGulf of Mexico andGulf of Maine. In 1878, he was ordered shortly toUSS Passaic and subsequentlyUSS Alaska, where he cruised the Pacific Ocean for three years.[1] In 1881 he becameexecutive officer ofUSS Alarm, and in 1882 becamecommanding officer of the vessel, his first command.[1]
In 1882 and 1883, he served at theUnited States Naval Observatory. From there he was ordered toUSS Ossipee during its tour of Asian ports. For his services aboard this ship he received a commendatory letter from theSecretary of the Navy.[1] In April 1891, he relinquished command of theMare Island Observatory and reported for a tour of China aboardUSS Lancaster. From July 1894 to May 1897 he once again commanded the Mare Island Observatory, where he was placed in charge of accurate time keeping for theWest Coast of the United States and distribution ofmarine chronometers to ships in the Pacific Fleet.[1] On June 1, 1897, he becamenavigator forUSS Montgomery, serving only until July 12 of the same year before becoming executive officer ofUSS Vesuvius and then executive officer ofUSS Topeka until March 1899.[1] He participated in theBattle of Santiago de Cuba, for which he received commendation from commanding AdmiralWilliam T. Sampson.[1]
From March 1899 to June 1900 he served as executive officer ofUSS Abarenda, on which he sailed toAmerican Samoa. He was inPago Pago when the United States assumed control of the island chain. In 1900, he served in equipment department of theBrooklyn Navy Yard and then equipment officer at thePortsmouth Naval Shipyard.[1] He later became commanding officer of USSSupply, which became theflagship for Guam when he became governor.[5]
During his term as governor, Sewell issued twenty-four orders, most of them concerned with taxes. He conducted major overhauls of the taxation,criminal code, and prison system.[2] He also repealed a number of laws limiting the practice of native Guamanian culture, including once again allowingUnited States military personnel to live among theChamorro people and allowing theCaroline Islands to wear native clothing and participate incockfights.[2] At first, he raised the property taxes, which had only been one percent under Spanish rule, which caused many natives to default and lose their land.[6] After a series of crop failures caused economic hardship on the island, he reducedproperty taxes by fifty percent.[2]
He also issued a number of corporate reforms. He legalizedalcohol, allowing its manufacture and sale given the government issue of a special license to do so.[2] He continued the unpopular policy of keeping those withleprosy separate from the general populace and improved the judicial laws of the island with General Order 69 on November 30, 1903. The court system he set up lasted until the 1930s.[6] Under his administration, the firsttelegraph cable reached the island.[7] On March 18, 1904, Sewell died while in office.[2][3]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Naval Governor of Guam 1903–1904 | Succeeded by |
| Commissioner(1898–1899) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Naval(1899–1941) | ||
| Military(1944–1949) | ||
| Civilian(1949–1969) | ||
| Elected(since 1969) | ||