John M. Dowe Explained

John M. Dowe
Birth Place:Killingly, Connecticut, US
Successor2:Fred R. Zeller
Termend2:1943
Termstart2:1941
Death Place:Hartford, Connecticut, US
Education:Brown University
Birth Date:1 September 1896
Office:Comptroller of Connecticut
Occupation:Politician
Party:Democratic
Successor1:Raymond S. Thatcher
Predecessor1:Fred R. Zeller
Termstart1:January 3, 1945
Termend1:May 15, 1946
Predecessor2:Fred R. Zeller
Birth Name:John Marshall Dowe

John Marshall Dowe (September 1, 1896 – May 15, 1946) was an American politician who served as Connecticut State Comptroller (1941–1943, 1945–1946).[1] A Democrat from Killingly, he also served in the Connecticut General Assembly.

Political career

Dowe served in the Connecticut General Assembly in 1931 and 1933 and as deputy state comptroller from 1935 to 1939. A former chair of the Democratic State Central Committee,[2] Dowe was the Democratic nominee for Connecticut's 2nd congressional district in 1934; he narrowly lost the election to Republican incumbent William L. Higgins.[3]

Dowe was elected to the office of Connecticut State Comptroller in 1940, was defeated in 1942, and won again in 1944. When he died in office in 1946, the Connecticut General Assembly appointed Raymond S. Thatcher to fill the vacancy.

Personal life

Dowe was born on September 1, 1896, and was raised in Killingly, Connecticut.[4] Dowe attended the town's public schools as well as Brown University. In 1917, he left Brown without a degree to enlist in the United States Army and saw active duty overseas in World War I with the 103rd Field Artillery Regiment, 26th Infantry Division, American Expeditionary Force.

Returning to Killingly in May 1919, Dowe took over the running of the family stationery business, which his grandfather had established in 1860. He dedicated ten years to running the business before entering public service in the 1930s. He had two sons, Marshall and David, with his first wife, Muriel Clark, who died in 1934. Dowe later married Doris Perry of Danvers, Massachusetts.

At the age of 49, Dowe suffered a heart attack and died at Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford on May 15, 1946. Doris Dowe died by suicide on October 22, 1946. She had been in poor health and been "despondent" at her husband's death.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Comptrollers. 2022-02-22. CT.gov - Connecticut's Official State Website. en. 2022-01-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20220106145528/https://portal.ct.gov/SOTS/Register-Manual/Section-I/Comptrollers. live.
  2. News: 1946-05-16. Dowe's Death to Cause Delay in Legislature: Choosing Successor to Comptroller Seen as Urgent Matter. 1. The Meriden Journal. 2022-02-22. 2022-02-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20220222181329/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96181270/the-journal/. live.
  3. Web site: 1934 Election Statistics. 2022-02-22. United States House of Representatives. en. 2020-11-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20201121040931/https://history.house.gov/Institution/Election-Statistics/. live.
  4. Book: Register and Manual - State of Connecticut. Secretary of the State of Connecticut. 1946. Hartford. 73. en.
  5. News: 1946-10-23. Former Danvers Woman Ends Life. 2. The Boston Globe. 2022-02-22. 2022-02-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20220222181328/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96181600/the-boston-globe/. live.