Fletcher D. Proctor Explained

Order1:51st
Office1:Governor of Vermont
Term Start1:October 4, 1906
Term End1:October 8, 1908
Lieutenant1:George H. Prouty
Predecessor1:Charles J. Bell
Successor1:George H. Prouty
Office2:Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives
Term Start2:1900
Term End2:1902
Predecessor2:Kittredge Haskins
Successor2:John H. Merrifield
Office3:Member of the Vermont Senate
Term Start3:1892
Term End3:1894
Constituency3:Rutland County
Alongside3:John A. Mead, John G. Pitkin, Araunuh W. Hyde
Predecessor3:Levi G. Kingsley, Albert J. Dickinson, Cyrus Jennings, Simon L. Peck
Successor3:Frank D. White, Ira R. Allen, Amos D. Tiffany, Noah S. Walker
Office4:Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Proctor
Term Start4:1904
Term End4:1906
Predecessor4:George Herschel Davis
Successor4:John C. Cameron
Term Start5:1900
Term End5:1902
Predecessor5:Wilbur E. Higbee
Successor5:George Herschel Davis
Term Start6:1890
Term End6:1892
Predecessor6:Redfield Proctor
Successor6:Benjamin F. Taylor
Birth Name:Fletcher Dutton Proctor
Birth Date:November 7, 1860
Birth Place:Cavendish, Vermont
Death Place:Proctor, Vermont
Restingplace:South Street Cemetery, Proctor, Vermont
Parents:Redfield Proctor
Emily Dutton
Spouse:Minnie Robinson Proctor (1865–1928)
Children:3, including Mortimer R. Proctor
Relations:Redfield Proctor Jr. (brother)
Profession:Executive, Vermont Marble Company
Education:
Party:Republican
Allegiance:United States
Vermont
Branch:Vermont National Guard
Serviceyears:1884–1887
Rank:First lieutenant
Unit:1st Infantry Regiment, Vermont National Guard
Signature:Signature of Fletcher Dutton Proctor.png

Fletcher Dutton Proctor (November 7, 1860  - September 27, 1911) was an American businessman, a Republican politician, and the 51st governor of Vermont, who served from 1906 to 1908.

Personal life

Proctor was born in Cavendish, Vermont, on November 7, 1860, the son of Vermont Governor Redfield Proctor and brother of Governor Redfield Proctor Jr. He was raised in Proctor, attended Middlebury College, and graduated from Amherst College in 1882. He would later receive honorary degrees from the University of Vermont in 1907, Middlebury College in 1908, and Norwich University in 1908.

He married Minnie E. Robinson on May 26, 1886, and they had three children, Emily Proctor, Mortimer R. Proctor (who later served as governor), and Minnie Proctor.[1]

Career

Proctor was employed at his family's business, Vermont Marble, becoming President in 1889.[2] He also served as President of the Clarendon & Pittsford Railroad[3] and the Proctor Trust Company.[4]

In 1883, Proctor was elected head of the Vermont division of the Sons of Veterans with the honorary rank of colonel, and he was often addressed by that title in contemporary newspaper accounts.[5] Proctor enlisted in the Vermont National Guard's Company A, 1st Infantry Regiment in 1884 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He was promoted to first lieutenant and inspector of rifle practice on the regimental staff before resigning in 1887.[6]

Proctor served in several local offices, including town selectman and school board member. A Republican, from 1886 to 1888 he was Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs (chief assistant) for Governor Ebenezer J. Ormsbee.[7]

Proctor was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1890 to 1892 and the Vermont Senate from 1892 to 1894. He served in the Vermont House again from 1900 to 1902 and 1904 to 1906 and was Speaker from 1900 to 1902.[8]

Governor

Elected governor in 1906, Proctor served from October 4, 1906, to October 8, 1908.[9] As governor, rejecting his father's fiscal conservatism, he declared that the state had "a higher duty than to live cheaply." Proctor advocated progressive forestry policies, reorganized Vermont's courts and reformed the commission that regulated utilities and railroads.[10] During his term as governor, Proctor's executive clerk was Aaron H. Grout, the son of former Governor Josiah Grout.[11]

As governor, it also fell to Proctor to appoint a temporary replacement to the United States Senate seat left vacant by the death of his father, Redfield Proctor. He named former governor and congressman John W. Stewart, who served until a special election could be held to fill the remainder of Redfield Proctor's term. Fletcher Proctor was presumed to be prepared to follow in his father's footsteps, but declined to run for the Senate seat, which was won by Carroll S. Page.[12] [13] [14] After completing his term as governor, Proctor returned to Vermont Marble and his other business interests in the town of Proctor.

Death

Proctor died in the town of Proctor on September 27, 1911, after an illness of several weeks.[15] [16] [17] He is interred at South Street Cemetery in Proctor.[18]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Fletcher D. Proctor. 1910. The National Cyclopedia of American Biography. 14 November 2012.
  2. Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1892, page 323
  3. Vermont Board of Railroad Commissioners, Biennial Report, Volume 6, 1898, page 203
  4. Charles S. Forbes, History of the Republican Party, The Vermonter magazine, June, 1906, pages 178 to 179
  5. Partridge . Frank C. . September–October 1911 . Death Notice: Fletcher Dutton Proctor . The Vermonter . White River Junction, VT . Cas. R. Cummings . 350 . Google Books.
  6. Vermont Men of Today, Fletcher Dutton Proctor, The Vermonter magazine, May, 1902, page 448
  7. The Legislature of 1900, Speaker Fletcher Dutton Proctor, The Vermonter magazine, November, 1900, pages 58 to 60
  8. Vermont Historical Society, Annual Meeting Proceedings, 1918, pages 139 to 140
  9. Web site: Fletcher D. Proctor. National Governors Association. 14 November 2012.
  10. John J. Duffy, Samuel B. Hand, Ralph H. Orth, The Vermont Encyclopedia, 2003, page 241
  11. Vermont General Assembly, Acts and Resolves Passed by the Vermont General Assembly, 1906, page 781
  12. Atlanta Constitution, Stewart Goes to Senate, March 25, 1908
  13. New York Times, "Calfskin" Senator From Vermont Now, October 25, 1908
  14. New York Times, Ex-Senator Stewart Dead, October 30, 1915
  15. Fitchburg Daily Sentinel, Fletcher Proctor Sick, September 6, 1911
  16. Vermont Death Records, 1909-2008, entry for Fletcher Dutton Proctor, accessed August 5, 2012
  17. Newport Mercury, Fletcher Proctor Dead, September 30, 1911
  18. Web site: South Street Cemetery, Proctor. Vermont Old Cemetery Association. 24 November 2017.