Reuben Fenton: Difference between revisions

| state1 = [[New York (state)|New York]]

| occupation = Attorney<br/>Businessmanbusinessman

'''Reuben Eaton Fenton''' (July 4, 1819{{spaced ndash}}August 25, 1885) was an American merchant and politician from [[New York. (state)In the mid-19th century, he served as a [[United States House of Representatives|NewU.S. YorkRepresentative]], a [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]], and as Governor of New York.

Fenton was born near [[Frewsburg, New York|Frewsburg]], in [[Chautauqua County, New York]], on July 4, 1819.<ref name="nysl">{{cite web |title=Reuben Eaton Fenton Papers |url=http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/msscfa/sc10722.htm |website=www.nysl.nysed.gov |publisher=[[New York State Library|Manuscripts and Special Collections: New York State Library]] |access-date=5 December 5, 2019}}</ref> He was the son of a farmer, and schoolteacher, George Washington Fenton (1783–1860) and Elsey ([[née]] Owen) Fenton (1790–1875).<ref name="Maltby1918">{{cite book |last1=Maltby |first1=Mrs Martha (Humphreys) |title=Genealogical Gleanings of Siggins, and Other Pennsylvania Families: A Volume of History, Biography and Colonial, Revolutionary, Civil and Other War Records Including Names of Many Other Warren County Pioneers |date=1918 |publisher=Tiernan-Dart Printing Company |page=[https://archive.org/details/genealogicalgle00maltgoog/page/n43 16] |url=https://archive.org/details/genealogicalgle00maltgoog |access-date=5 December 5, 2019 |language=en}}</ref> He had four siblings: Roswell Owen Fenton, George Washington Fenton Jr., William H.H. Fenton, and John Freeman Fenton.<ref name="Schenck1887">{{cite book |last1=Schenck |first1=J. S. |last2=Rann |first2=William S. |title=History of Warren County, Pennsylvania: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers |date=1887 |publisher=D. Mason & Company |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofwarrenc00sche/page/330 330] |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofwarrenc00sche |access-date=5 December 5, 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

His paternal grandparents were Roswell Fenton and Deborah (née Freeman) Fenton and his maternal grandfather was John Owen of [[Carroll, New York]].<ref name="Schenck1887"/> His paternal aunt, Hannah Fenton was the wife of Lambert Van Buren of [[Kinderhook, New York]].<ref name="Peckham1913">{{cite book |last1=Peckham, A.B., M.D. |first1=Harriett C. Waite Van Buren |title=History of Cornelis Maessen Van Buren who came from Holland to the New Netherlands in 1631, and his descendants, including the genealogy of the family of BLOOMINGDALE who are descended from Maas, a son of Cornelis Masessen |date=1913 |publisher=Tobias A. Wright Printer and Publisherpublisher |isbn=978-5-87839-437-6 |page=78 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vjIRAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA78 |access-date=5 December 5, 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

He was educated in the district school, [[Ohio Military Institute|Cary's Academy]] near [[Cincinnati]], Ohio]], and the [[Fredonia Academy]].<ref name="Downs1921"/>

In 1840, he was named commander of the [[New York Army National Guard|New York Militia]]'s 162nd Infantry Regiment with the rank of [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]]. He became a lumber merchant, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1841.<ref name="RF finding aid">{{cite web|title=Reuben Eaton Fenton Papers, 1854-18871854–1887 (finding aid)|url=http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/msscfa/sc10722.htm|website=New York State Library web site|publisher=[[New York State Library]]|access-date=25 November 25, 2014|ref=RFfind}}</ref> Fenton entered politics as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]]. He was [[Town Supervisor]] of [[Carroll, New York|Carroll]] from 1843 to 1850.<ref name="REFbioguide"/>

He was elected as a Democrat to the [[33rd United States Congress]], and served from March 4, 1853, to March 3, 1855. In his first term in Congress, Fenton strongly opposed the [[Kansas-Nebraska Act]] of 1854 and unsuccessfully tried to persuade President [[Franklin Pierce]] and [[U.S. Secretary of State]] [[William L. Marcy]] to oppose the bill. He was defeated for re-election that year. He left the Democratic Party to help organize the Republican Party,<ref name="RF finding aid" /> and was later elected, as a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], to the [[35th United States Congress|35th]], [[36th United States Congress|36th]], [[37th United States Congress|37th]] and [[38th United States Congress]]es, and served from 1857 to 1865. During the 36th Congress, he served on the [[United States House Committee on Invalid Pensions|Committee on Invalid Pensions]] and in the 37th Congress, he served on the [[United States House Committee on Claims|Committee on Claims]].<ref name="REFbioguide">{{cite web |title=FENTON, Reuben Eaton -– Biographical Information |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=f000077 |website=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=[[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]] |access-date=5 December 5, 2019}}</ref> He served a total of five terms as congressman.

He was the [[Governor of New York]] from 1865 to 1868, elected in [[New York state election, 1864|1864]] and [[New York state election, 1866|1866]]. "During his tenure, Cornell University was founded; a free public school system was initiated; and relief measures were sanctioned that benefited veterans."<ref name="nga">{{cite web |title=Reuben Eaton Fenton |url=https://www.nga.org/governor/7698-2/ |website=nga.org |publisher=[[National Governors Association]] |access-date=5 December 5, 2019}}</ref> After serving two terms as governor, Fenton lost the November 1868 election to [[John T. Hoffman]], a [[Tammany Hall|Tammany]]-backed Democrat. In 1868, he was among the candidates to be [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] but the nomination went eventually to [[Schuyler Colfax]],<ref name="Hollister1886">{{cite book |last1=Hollister |first1=Ovando James |title=Life of Schuyler Colfax |date=1886 |publisher=Funk & Wagnalls |page=[https://archive.org/details/lifeschuylercol00hollgoog/page/n342 322] |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeschuylercol00hollgoog |access-date=5 December 5, 2019 |language=en}}</ref> whom Fenton had previously been allied with in discussing "growing public agitation about" General [[George B. McClellan]]'s inactivity with President [[Abraham Lincoln]] during the [[U.S. Civil War]].<ref name="Lehrman2018">{{cite book |last1=Lehrman |first1=Lewis E. |title=Lincoln & Churchill: Statesmen at War |date=2018 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |isbn=978-0-8117-6745-3 |page=125 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V_g9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA125 |access-date=5 December 5, 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

In [[United States Senate election in New York, 1869|January 1869]], he was elected a [[U.S. Senator from New York]], succeeding [[Edwin D. Morgan]] and serving from 1869 to 1875 when [[Francis Kernan]] replaced him. While in the Senate, he served as Chair of the [[United States Senate Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate|Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses]] during the 42nd Congress while also serving on the [[United States Senate Committee on Manufactures|Committee on Manufactures]] and the [[United States Senate Committee on Territories|Committee on Territories]].<ref name="REFbioguide"/>

In July 1870, President Grant appointed Thomas Murphy to be the [[United States Custom House (New York City)|New York Customs House Collector]], a position rich with patronage. Fenton opposed the nomination, but was unsuccessful when Sen. [[Roscoe Conkling]] gave a speech in which he produced proof that Fenton had stolen $12,000 as a young man rather than deliver it as a currier. Fenton had claimed he was robbed. Fenton, upon seeing the documents that had been produced by Conkling, slumped over his desk in defeat according to author Ron Chernow. The actions of Conkling secured his place as the leader of the Republican machine in New York and greatly reduced the clout of Fenton.

In 1872, he was among the Republicans opposed to President [[Ulysses S. Grant]] who joined the short-lived [[Liberal Republican Party (United States)|Liberal Republican Party]].<ref name="Dunkelman2015">{{cite book |last1=Dunkelman |first1=Mark H. |title=Patrick Henry Jones: Irish American, Civil War General, and Gilded Age Politician |date=2015 |publisher=[[LSU Press]] |isbn=978-0-8071-5967-5 |page=94 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WxYuCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA94 |access-date=5 December 5, 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1878, Fenton represented the United States at the [[InternationalParis monetaryMonetary conferencesConference (1878)|International Monetary Conference]] in [[Paris]]. He was known as "The Soldiers' Friend" for his efforts to help returning [[American Civil War|Civil War]] veterans. He worked to remove tuition charges for public education, helped to establish six schools for training teachers, and signed the charter for [[Cornell University]].<ref>[https://archive.org/details/lifesketchessta00boongoog Google Books] ''Life Sketches of State Officers, Senators, and Members of Assembly in the State of New York in 1867'' by S. R. Harlow and H. H. Boone (Weed, Parsons & Co., Albany NY, 1867)</ref>

In 1840, Fenton was married to Jane W. Frew (1821–1842), the daughter of John Frew. They had one daughter, Jane Frew Fenton. After his first wife's death in 1842 Jane went to live with her maternal grandparents. Reuben got remarried on June 12, 1844, to Elizabeth Scudder (1824–1901). Together, they were the parents of:<ref name="Downs1921"/>

* Reuben Earle Fenton (1865–1895), who married Lillian Mai Hayden, daughter of Charles H. Hayden in 1890.<ref name="Downs1921">{{cite book |last1=Downs |first1=John P. |last2=Hedley |first2=Fenwick Y. |title=HISTORY CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY NEW YORK AND ITS PEOPLE, Vol. II |date=1921 |publisher=American Historical Society, Inc. |url=https://www.forgottenbooks.com/en/download/History_of_Chautauqua_County_New_York_and_Its_People_v2_1000910437.pdf |access-date=5 December 5, 2019}}</ref>

Fenton died on August 25, 1885, in [[Jamestown, New York|Jamestown]],<ref name="1885Obit">{{cite news |title=Death of Ex-Gov. Fenton; He Dies Suddenly from Heart Disease. Jamestown in Mourning for the Loss of Its Leading Citizen--HisCitizen—His Long and Useful Career. |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1885/08/26/103634035.pdf |access-date=5 December 5, 2019 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=26 August 26, 1885}}</ref> and was buried in Lakeview[[Lake View Cemetery (Jamestown, New York)|Lake View Cemetery]].<ref name="1885Burial">{{cite news |title=Ex-Gov. Fenton Buried.; Laid at Rest in Lakeview Cemetery After Solemn Funeral Services. |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1885/08/30/103634933.pdf |access-date=5 December 5, 2019 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=30 August 30, 1885}}</ref>

The town of [[Fenton, New York|Fenton]] in [[Broome County, New York]], is named forAfter Reuben Fenton.

After his death, a building at [[State University of New York at Fredonia|The State University of New York at Fredonia]], Fenton Hall, was named in his honor because he had attended the previous incarnation of the school, Fredonia Academy.<ref name="Lindquist">{{cite news |last=Lindquist |first=Joan |date=2019 |title=Remembering Brooklyn Square: Govenor &#91;sic&#93; Reuben E. Fenton |url=https://jamestowngazette.com/remembering-brooklyn-square-govenor-reuben-e-fenton/ |work=Jamestown Gazette |location=Jamestown, NY}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |date=June 1865 |title=The Governor of New York |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pbNMAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA433 |magazine=The Dollar Monthly Magazine |location=Boston, MA |publisher=Office American, Flag of Our Union, and Novelette |page=433 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

Fenton Avenue in [[The Bronx]], [[New York (state)|New York]], is named for him.<ref name="Lindquist"/>

* [http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/msscfa/sc10722.htm Reuben Eaton Fenton Papers, 1854-18871854–1887] at the [[New York State Library]]

[[Category:Republican Party United States senators from New York (state) Republicans]]

[[Category:RepublicanUnion Party(American UnitedCivil StatesWar) senatorsstate governors]]

[[Category:Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)]]

[[Category:Republican Party state governors of theNew UnitedYork States(state)]]