American politician
Ernest W. Gibson
|
---|
|
|
|
In office
November 21, 1933 ? June 20, 1940
|
Preceded by
| Porter H. Dale
|
---|
Succeeded by
| Ernest W. Gibson Jr.
|
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|
In office
November 6, 1923 ? October 19, 1933
|
Preceded by
| Porter H. Dale
|
---|
Succeeded by
| Charles A. Plumley
|
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Constituency
| 2nd district
(1923?1933)
At-large district
(1933)
|
---|
|
In office
1908?1910
|
Preceded by
| William J. Van Patten
|
---|
Succeeded by
| Max L. Powell
|
---|
|
In office
1908?1910
Serving with George H. Gorham
|
Preceded by
| Charles S. Chase, Brigham T. Phelps
|
---|
Succeeded by
| Edwin P. Adams, Edgar M. Butler
|
---|
|
In office
December 20, 1906 ? December 1, 1910
|
Preceded by
| None (position created)
|
---|
Succeeded by
| Kittredge Haskins
|
---|
|
In office
1906?1908
|
Preceded by
| Clarke C. Fitts
|
---|
Succeeded by
| Herbert G. Barber
|
---|
|
|
Born
| Ernest Willard Gibson
(
1871-12-29
)
December 29, 1871
Londonderry
,
Vermont
, U.S.
|
---|
Died
| June 20, 1940
(1940-06-20)
(aged 68)
Washington, D.C.
, U.S.
|
---|
Political party
| Republican
|
---|
Spouse
| Grace Fullerton Hadley
[1]
|
---|
Children
| 4, including
Ernest W. Gibson Jr.
|
---|
Alma mater
| Norwich University
(
B.S.
,
M.A.
)
University of Michigan Law School
|
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Profession
| Lawyer
|
---|
|
Allegiance
|
United States
|
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Branch/service
| Vermont National Guard
United States Army
|
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Years of service
| 1899-1908
1915-1923
|
---|
Rank
| Colonel
|
---|
Battles/wars
| Pancho Villa Expedition
World War I
|
---|
|
Ernest Willard Gibson
(December 29, 1871 – June 20, 1940) was an American politician and lawyer from
Vermont
. A
Republican
, he served in both the
United States House of Representatives
(1923-1933) and
United States Senate
(1933-1940).
A native of
Londonderry, Vermont
, Gibson graduated from
Black River Academy
(1891) and
Norwich University
(BS, 1894, MA, 1896). From 1894 to 1898, Gibson was principal of the high school in
Chester, Vermont
. While working as a principal, Gibson
studied law
with
Eleazer L. Waterman
and
James Loren Martin
attended the
University of Michigan Law School
. He was
admitted to the bar
in 1899 and began to practice in
Brattleboro
.
Gibson gained his initial political experience as a Chester Village Trustee (1895 to 1898). While practicing law, he served as
Windham County
Register of
Probate
and Deputy Clerk of Vermont's
United States District Court
. He subsequently won terms in the
Vermont House of Representatives
(1906) and
Vermont Senate
(1908). During his State Senate term, Gibson was the body's
President pro tempore
. Gibson served as judge of Brattleboro's Municipal Court from 1906 to 1910.
From 1899 to 1908 Gibson served in the
Vermont National Guard
. Enlisting as a
private
, he received his commission as an officer in 1901. From 1906 to 1908 he served on the staff of Governor
Fletcher D. Proctor
with the rank of
colonel
. He served again from 1915 to 1923, and took part in the
Pancho Villa Expedition
after Joining the 1st Vermont Infantry Regiment as a
captain
. During
World War I
, Gibson was commander of
Company
I, 1st Vermont Infantry, which was later federalized as the 57th Pioneer Infantry
Regiment
. Gibson remained in the National Guard after the war, and retired as a colonel after he won a seat in the U.S. House.
In 1912, Gibson became a leader of the
Progressive
movement in Vermont, but remained loyal to the Republican Party, which enabled him to serve as a bridge between the two groups. He served as Windham County
State's Attorney
from 1919 until 1921 and was Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs (chief assistant) at the start of Governor
James Hartness
's term in 1921. In November 1923, Gibson was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Vermont's
2nd district
. he continued to win reelection until 1932, when the 2nd District was eliminated and Vermont became one
at-large district
, Gibson was elected to represent it. After the 1933 death of Senator
Porter H. Dale
, Gibson was appointed to fill the vacancy. He was elected in 1934 to complete Dale's term, and in 1938 won election to a full six-year term. Gibson served in the Senate until his death. Gibson was buried at Morningside Cemetery in Brattleboro.
Early life
[
edit
]
Gibson was born in
Londonderry, Vermont
, on December 29, 1871,
[2]
[3]
[4]
the son of Saville (Stowell) and William L. Gibson.
[5]
He attended local schools, and was a graduate of
Black River Academy
, where his classmates included
Calvin Coolidge
.
[6]
He graduated from
Norwich University
with a
Bachelor of Science
degree in 1894, and was a member of the
Theta Chi
fraternity.
[7]
He received his
Master of Arts
degree from Norwich in 1896.
He studied law with
Eleazer L. Waterman
and
James Loren Martin
, attended the
University of Michigan Law School
, and was
admitted to the bar
in 1899.
[9]
Early career
[
edit
]
Gibson was a high school principal in
Chester
from 1894 until 1898.
[11]
He served as a Chester Village Trustee from 1895 to 1898.
He was a trustee of
Norwich University
from 1899 to 1909 and again from 1919 to 1935, and served as vice president of the board of trustees.
[12]
Gibson received an
honorary
LL.D.
from Norwich in 1926.
[13]
A
Republican
, after becoming an attorney he practiced in
Brattleboro
, where he also served as the
Windham County
Register of
Probate
and Deputy Clerk of Vermont's
United States District Court
.
[14]
From 1904 to 1911 he was a lecturer on constitutional law at Norwich University.
[15]
In 1906 he was elected to the
Vermont House of Representatives
.
[16]
In 1908 he was elected to the
Vermont State Senate
, and served as
President pro tempore
.
[17]
From 1906 to 1910 Gibson served as Brattleboro's Municipal Court
Judge
.
[18]
In 1910 he ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for
lieutenant governor
.
[19]
Gibson became a leader of the
Progressive
movement in Vermont, which ultimately led to creation of a recognized faction within the
Vermont Republican Party
, the Aiken-Gibson Wing. The
Aiken
-Gibson Wing was more liberal than the party establishment, which had been led for years by conservative business interests including the
Smith family
of
St. Albans
, the
Fairbanks family
of
St. Johnsbury
, and the
Proctor family
of
Proctor
.
[20]
[21]
Despite his Progressive views, Gibson remained loyal to the Republicans and worked to keep Vermonters with similar views in the party. To that end, in 1912 he was a delegate to the
Republican National Convention
.
[22]
[23]
Gibson served as Windham County
State's Attorney
from 1919 until 1921, and was Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs (chief assistant) to Governor
James Hartness
in 1921.
[24]
[25]
Military service
[
edit
]
From 1899 to 1908 Gibson served in the
Vermont National Guard
. Enlisting as a
private
, he was commissioned in 1901. From 1906 to 1908 he served on the staff of Governor
Fletcher D. Proctor
as a
colonel
.
[26]
[27]
He served again from 1915 to 1923. Joining the 1st Vermont Infantry Regiment as a
captain
, he served in the
Pancho Villa Expedition
in 1915 and 1916.
[28]
[29]
[30]
Gibson also served in
World War I
. As captain and commander of
Company
I, 1st Vermont Infantry (later federalized as the 57th Pioneer Infantry
Regiment
), Gibson served at
Camp Bartlett
,
Camp Greene
, and
Camp Wadsworth
,
South Carolina
before departing for
France
in September, 1918. The 57th Pioneer Infantry provided replacement troops for the
83rd Division
, with Gibson and a handful of soldiers left to reorganize the regiment and prepare it for a scheduled for deployment to the front lines. The
Armistice
occurred before the unit moved, and Gibson returned to the United States. At the end of the war he was stationed at
Camp Devens
, where he received his discharge in March, 1919.
[31]
[32]
[33]
Gibson remained in the National Guard, and retired as a colonel upon winning election to Congress.
United States Representative
[
edit
]
In November 1923, Gibson was elected to the United States House of Representatives (
Sixty-eighth United States Congress
), filling the vacancy caused when
Porter H. Dale
resigned Vermont's
2nd district
seat to become a United States Senator. He was reelected to the
Sixty-ninth
, and the four succeeding Congresses, serving from November 6, 1923, until his resignation on October 19, 1933.
[34]
Vermont lost a House district as a result of the 1930 census, and in 1932 Gibson was elected as Vermont's
at-large Congressman
, defeating
Loren R. Pierce
in the primary, and going on to win the general election. Governor
John E. Weeks
had run for the
1st district
seat in 1930, and indicated that if elected it would be the capstone of his career and he would not run in 1932, thus avoiding the possibility that two incumbents would run against each other for the at-large seat.
During his House tenure, Gibson was chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Treasury (Sixty-ninth Congress) and the Committee on Territories (Seventy-first Congress).
[35]
United States Senate
[
edit
]
In November 1933, Gibson was appointed to the United States Senate, filling the vacancy created by the death of
Porter H. Dale
.
[36]
He was elected in 1934 to complete Dale's term, and elected to a full term in 1938. Gibson served in the Senate from November 21, 1933, until his death on June 20, 1940. He died in
Washington, D.C.
, and was interred at Morningside Cemetery in Brattleboro.
[37]
Family
[
edit
]
Gibson married Grace Fullerton Hadley on November 25, 1896. They had four children, Frank Hadley Gibson (1899?1922),
Ernest William Gibson Jr.
(1901?1969), Doris Gibson (1903?1947) and Preston Fullerton Gibson (1908?1955).
Preston F. Gibson was a lawyer who was active in Republican politics and served as judge of Brattleboro's municipal court.
[38]
[39]
Ernest W. Gibson Jr. succeeded his father temporarily in the Senate and later served as
Governor of Vermont
and
Judge
of the
United States District Court for the District of Vermont
.
[40]
The younger Ernest Gibson's children included
Ernest W. Gibson III
, an associate justice of the
Vermont Supreme Court
.
[41]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Vermont Vital Records, 1720-1908, marriage record for Ernest W. Gibson and Grace Fullerton Hadley (1896), retrieved February 28, 2014
- ^
Vermont Legislative Directory
. 1906. p. 492.
- ^
Who's Who in New England
. Vol. 3. 1938. p. 525.
- ^
The 1941 Docket
. August 30, 2023.
- ^
Congress, United States (1943).
"Memorial Services Held in the House of Representatives and Senate of the United States, Together with Remarks Presented in Eulogy of Ernest Willard Gibson (Late a Senator from Vermont)"
.
- ^
Middlesex Club of Boston,
Program, Grant Night Dinner
, 1924, page 20
- ^
Ellis, William Arba (1911).
Norwich University, 1819?1911; Her History, Her Graduates, Her Roll of Honor
. Vol. 3. Montpelier, VT: Capital City Press. p. 283.
- ^
University of Michigan Law School,
Annual Catalogue for 1893-1894
, 1893, page 48
- ^
Vermont Bar Association,
Report of Proceedings of the Annual Meeting
, Volume 34, 1940, page 82
- ^
White, James Terry (1943).
The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography
. J.T. White. p. 452.
- ^
Norwich University,
Norwich University Record
, 1937, page 5
- ^
Prentiss Cutler Dodge,
Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography
, 1912, pages 199-200
- ^
Ellis, Norwich University, page 600
- ^
Prentiss Cutler Dodge, Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography
- ^
Vermont General Assembly,
Journal of the Vermont State Senate
, 1908, page 5
- ^
James Terry White, The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography
- ^
Prentiss Cutler Dodge, Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography
- ^
Samuel B. Hand,
The Star That Set: The Vermont Republican Party, 1854-1974
, 2003, page 133
- ^
Richard Munson Judd,
The New Deal in Vermont: Its Impact and Aftermath
, 1979, pages 64, 160, 303
- ^
"Gibson, Ernest Willard (1872?1940)"
. The Political Graveyard
. Retrieved
December 26,
2012
.
- ^
Peter S. Jennison,
The Roadside History of Vermont
, 1989, 101
- ^
Sampson and Murdock,
The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer
, 1920, page 123
- ^
Vermont Bar Association, Annual Meeting Proceedings, 1940
- ^
Ellis, Norwich University, page 284
- ^
Vermont Adjutant General,
Biennial Report, General Order Number 1
, 1906, page 1
- ^
U.S. Army Adjutant General, Returns from Military Posts, 1806-1916, entry for Ernest W. Gibson, August 1916, retrieved February 28, 1916
- ^
U.S. Army Adjutant General, Returns from Military Posts, 1806-1916, entry for Ernest W. Gibson, October 1916, retrieved February 28, 1916
- ^
Army and Navy Journal, Inc.,
Army and Navy Journal
, Volume 74, Issues 1-26, 1936, page 462
- ^
U.S. Army Adjutant General Military Records, 1631-1976, Vermont Roster of Soldiers in World War I (1917-1919), 1927, entry for Ernest Willard Gibson, page 494
- ^
Richard A. Rinaldi,
The US Army in World War I - Orders of Battle
, 2004, page 102
- ^
Vermont Secretary of State,
Vermont Legislative Directory and State Manual
, 1965, page 168
- ^
"Sen. Ernest Gibson"
. Govtrack.us
. Retrieved
December 26,
2012
.
- ^
United States. Congress (2005).
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774?2005: The Continental Congress, September 5, 1774, to October 21, 1788, and the Congress of the United States, from the First Through the One Hundred Eighth Congresses, March 4, 1789, to January 3, 2005
. Government Printing Office. p. 1115.
ISBN
9780160731761
.
- ^
"Appointed Senators"
. United States Senate
. Retrieved
December 26,
2012
.
- ^
"To Attend Gibson Funeral"
.
The Barre Daily Times
. Barre, VT.
Associated Press
. June 22, 1940. p. 1 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
Vermont Secretary of State,
Legislative Directory
, 1949, page 680
- ^
U.S. Government Printing Office,
Memorial Services Held in the House of Representatives and Senate of the United States, Together with Remarks Presented in Eulogy of Ernest Willard Gibson (late a Senator from Vermont)
, 1943, page 52
- ^
"Gibson, Ernest William (1901?1969)"
. The Political Graveyard
. Retrieved
December 26,
2012
.
- ^
Myers, Ed (November 6, 1969).
"Judge Gibson to be Buried Friday in Brattleboro"
.
Burlington Free Press
. Burlington, VT. p. 1.
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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National
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People
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Other
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