William W. Stickney (politician)

For the lawyer and general, see William W. Stickney (USMC).
William Wallace Stickney
Closeup of full length photo taken from 1912's Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography
48th Governor of Vermont
In office
October 4, 1900 – October 3, 1902
LieutenantMartin F. Allen
Preceded byEdward C. Smith
Succeeded byJohn G. McCullough
Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives
In office
1892–1896
Preceded byHosea A. Mann Jr.
Succeeded byWilliam A. Lord
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Ludlow
In office
1892–1896
Preceded byHiram L. Warner
Succeeded byFrank A. Walker
State's Attorney of Windsor County, Vermont
In office
1890–1892
Preceded byWilliam Brunswick Curry Stickney
Succeeded byFrederick C. Southgate
In office
1882–1884
Preceded byThomas O. Seaver
Succeeded byJames J. Wilson
Personal details
Born(1853-03-21)March 21, 1853
Plymouth, Vermont, U.S.
DiedDecember 15, 1932(1932-12-15) (aged 79)
Sarasota, Florida, U.S.
Resting placePleasant View Cemetery, Ludlow, Vermont
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Elizabeth Lincoln
Sarah E. Moore
EducationBlack River Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
ProfessionAttorney

William Wallace Stickney (March 21, 1853 – December 15, 1932) was an American lawyer and politician. A Republican, he served as the 48th governor of Vermont from October 4, 1900, to October 3, 1902.

Biography

Stickney was born in Plymouth, Vermont on March 2, 1853, the son of John Winslow Stickney and Ann Pinney Stickney. His siblings included Hiland Orlando Stickney, a notable college football player and coach.[1] He graduated from Black River Academy in Ludlow, Vermont in 1873 and Phillips Exeter Academy in 1877. He went on to study law in the office of William H. Walker, was admitted to the bar in 1878 and practiced in Ludlow as the partner of John G. Sargent. Among the prospective attorneys who studied under Stickney and Sargent were Julius A. Willcox, who later served as an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court,[2] and Joseph F. Radigan, who later served as Vermont's United States Attorney.[3] Stickney married Elizabeth Lincoln on May 4, 1881. After her death on March 29, 1903, he married Sarah Effie Moore in Sarasota, Florida, on June 1, 1905.[4]

Career

Stickney in 1900

Stickney was president of the Ludlow Savings Bank and Trust Company. He was clerk of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1882 to 1892 and state's attorney for Windsor County from 1882 to 1884 and again from 1890 to 1892. He was elected in 1892 to represent Ludlow in the Vermont House of Representatives, and served until 1896; he was selected to serve as Speaker of the House in his first term, and held the post during his entire House tenure.[5]

Elected governor in 1900, he served from October 4, 1900, to October 3, 1902. Sargent served as Stickney's Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs (chief assistant).[6] A cousin of the Calvin Coolidge family,[7] Stickney appointed Coolidge's father John Coolidge to his military staff with the rank of colonel.[8] As governor, he favored abolishing the office of Tax Commissioner. During his administration, legislation was passed establishing the boundary line between Massachusetts and Vermont. After serving the one term permitted under the Republican Party's Mountain Rule, he returned to his law practice and banking and insurance interests. He received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Norwich University in 1902.[9]

As a delegate to the 1924 Republican National Convention, he seconded Calvin Coolidge's nomination for president.[4]

In 1926 Stickney was also an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination. Stickney's Ludlow home is now a bed and breakfast called "The Governor's Inn."[10]

Death

Lizzie Lincoln Stickney (1903)

Stickney died in Sarasota, Florida, and was interred at Pleasant View Cemetery[11] in Ludlow, Vermont.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Plymouth: Death of Hiland O. Stickney". Spirit of the Age. Woodstock, Vermont. October 28, 1911. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Bigelow, Walter J. (1919). Vermont, Its Government. Montpelier, VT: Historical Publishing Company. p. 138.
  3. ^ "Radigan Out for House". Rutland Herald. Rutland, VT. July 25, 1956. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b "William W. Stickney". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  5. ^ "William W. Stickney". National Governors Association. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  6. ^ Sobel, Robert (1990). Biographical Directory of the United States Executive Branch, 1774-1989. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing. p. 320. ISBN 978-0-313-26593-8.
  7. ^ Kallenbach, Joseph Ernest; Kallenbach, Jessamine S. (1977). American State Governors, 1776-1976. Vol. 3. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications. p. 482. ISBN 9780379006650.
  8. ^ Lathem, Edward Connery (1968). Your son, Calvin Coolidge: a selection of letters from Calvin Coolidge to his father. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Historical Society. p. 99. ISBN 9780934720182.
  9. ^ William W. Stickney. Encyclopedia, Vermont Biography. 1912. p. 50. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  10. ^ "William W. Stickney". The Governor's Inn.com. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  11. ^ Tucker, R. W. (2000). Cemetery Inscriptions in Ludlow, Vermont. Ludlow, VT: Rebecca Woodbury Tucker. p. 124.
  12. ^ "Governor William W. Stickney". National Governors Association. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
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Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Governor of Vermont
1900 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Vermont
1900–1902 		Succeeded by