Charles Aubrey Eaton

For the poet, see Charles Edward Eaton.

Charles Aubrey Eaton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 4th district
In office March 4, 1925 – March 3, 1933
President	Calvin Coolidge
Preceded by	Charles Browne (R)
Succeeded by	D. Lane Powers (D)
New Jersey's 5th congressional district
In office March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1953
President	Herbert Hoover
Preceded by	Percy Hamilton Stewart (R)
Succeeded by	Peter Hood Ballantine Frelinghuysen, Jr. (R)
President	Franklin D. Roosevelt
President	Harry S. Truman
Personal details
Born	March 29, 1868(1868-03-29) near Pugwash, Nova Scotia, Canada
Died	January 23, 1953(1953-01-23) (aged 84) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting place	Hillside Cemetery, Plainfield, New Jersey
Nationality	Canada (-1896)  United States (1896-)
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Mary Winifred Parlin, daughter of a wealthy Natick merchant. (m. June 26, 1895)
Relations	Cyrus S. Eaton, nephew William R. Eaton, nephew
Children	six Dlarion Aubrey Eaton, & al.
Alma mater	Acadia University, Nova Scotia, B.A. 1890, D.D. 1907 Newton Theological Institution, B.D. 1893 McMaster University, M.A. 1896 Baylor University D.D. 1899
Profession	pastor (1893-1919) journalist
Religion	Baptist
[1]

Charles Aubrey Eaton (March 29, 1868 – January 23, 1953) was a Canadian-born clergyman and politician who rose to lead prominent congregations at Natick, Massachusetts, 1893–1895; Bloor Street, Toronto, 1895–1901; Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, 1901–1909; and at Madison Avenue, New York City, 1909-1919. Eaton served in the United States House of Representatives from 1925–1953, representing the New Jersey's 4th congressional district from 1925–1933, and (as a result of redistricting based on the 1930 Census) the 5th district from 1933-1953.

Early life

Charles Aubrey Eaton was born in Pugwash, Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1868. His early life was marred by poverty and ill health that interfered with his education, but as the result of a religious conversion experienced under the influence of a clergyman he met as a young man, he was inspired to recover lost ground, and he eventually graduated from Acadia University, a Baptist institution in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, where he studied divinity. He became known in the cities where he preached for lively, exhortative, and often humorous oratory.

Evangelism

In 1904, Eaton's commitment to evangelism got him arrested on the streets of Cleveland, Ohio, for persistently ignoring by-laws prohibiting street preaching. However, he wanted to extend his ministry beyond the churches, into which many of the spiritually needy never stepped. At the same time, Eaton was the preacher at Euclid Avenue Baptist Church, situated on Cleveland's 'millionaire's row,' and as a result he came to the attention of John D. Rockefeller, a summer resident of Cleveland who attended church there. They became lifelong friends, and this connection influenced Eaton's future path. It also influenced that of another well known Canadian who went on to have an outstanding career in the United States, his favorite nephew, Cyrus S. Eaton. He introduced him to Rockefeller in 1901, when Cyrus was still a university student. Cyrus went on to work for Rockefeller, and eventually become one of Cleveland's first citizens, and one of America's premier industrialists. Charles moved to North Plainfield, New Jersey in 1909, and started a dairy farm, while at the same time preaching to a prominent New York City Baptist congregation. The area in which he lived separated from North Plainfield in 1926, and the Borough of Watchung, New Jersey was founded there. He lived there until his death.^[2]

Journalism

He was sociological editor of the Toronto Globe (1896–1901), associate editor of Westminster (1899–1901), special correspondent for The Times, New York Tribune, and Boston Transcript while in Toronto. He was editor of Leslie’s Weekly (1919, 1920), and (while director of labor relations at General Electric's National Lamp Works) editor of Light (1923–1924).^[1]

Political career

Charles Eaton acquired added prominence as a result of his work as a motivational speaker for the War Production Board during World War I, helping to quell labor unrest and promote the values of patriotism and self-sacrifice among shipyard workers in a time of national emergency. He had tinkered with journalism for many years as a part-time columnist while he was preaching, and his next career challenge took him into the occupation full time. As a sample of his political opinions in 1920, Charles Eaton wrote in Leslie's Magazine, of which he was then editor, that “The fundamental idea of our American civilization is this: any man who has the stuff in him can, by his own energy, thrift, industry and courage, rise to any height he may choose. His only limit is his own weakness. He, himself, is in a class by himself. There is no other class here… This is the greatest experiment ever made by man. It is a new idea fit to be developed only in a new world. It is the American idea.”

Eaton was then associated with the General Electric Company as counselor in industrial relations, and the fundamental principles which he worked out were adopted by GE in developing their progressive policies.

In 1924, Eaton was elected as a Republican to the 69th U.S. Congress and to the thirteen succeeding Congresses, serving until 1952. He rose to become chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (Eightieth Congress), and served on the Select Committee on Foreign Aid (Eightieth Congress). Eaton signed the original United Nations Charter in San Francisco as part of a delegation representing the United States Government. He helped gain support for the Marshall Plan—also known as the Economic Cooperation Act of 1948—which was passed by Congress in 1948 by a vote of 329 to 74. For several years, he served in Congress alongside his nephew William R. Eaton, a Representative from Colorado.

Eaton was a steadfast opponent of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.^[3][4] However, he was frequently invited to the White House for meetings with both presidents Roosevelt and Truman because of his sharp understanding of international politics.

Twenty days after his retirement from Congress, Eaton died in Washington, D.C. and was interred in Hillside Cemetery located in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.

An attempt was made to get a U.S. postage stamp named after him which was sponsored by N. J. Gov. James Florio, Congressman Dean Gallo and Sen. Bill Bradley, to no avail.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Charles Aubrey Eaton" (fee, via Fairfax County Public Library). Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1977. GALE|BT2310014222. http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=BIC2&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CBT2310014222&mode=view&userGroupName=fairfax_main&jsid=a02ea7f650c1c9a251ae71bb0968be41. Retrieved 2011-06-14.  Gale Biography In Context.
2. ^ "C. A. Eaton is Dead; ex-Congressman". New York Times. January 24, 1953. 
3. ^ Obituary, Time (magazine), February 2, 1953. Accessed September 9, 2007.
4. ^ "Clouts from Clergymen", Time (magazine), October 28, 1935. Accessed September 9, 2007.

External links

• Charles Aubrey Eaton at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Charles A. Eaton Papers at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University
• Find-A-Grave bio for Charles Aubrey Eaton
• Political Graveyard info for Charles Aubrey Eaton

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Charles Browne	U.S. House of Representatives 4th District of New Jersey 1925–1933	Succeeded by D. Lane Powers
Preceded by Percy Hamilton Stewart	U.S. House of Representatives 5th District of New Jersey 1933–1953	Succeeded by Peter Frelinghuysen, Jr.

Persondata
Name	Eaton, Charles Aubrey
Alternative names
Short description	Pastor, journalist, U.S. congressman
Date of birth	March 29, 1868
Place of birth	Pugwash, Nova Scotia, Canada
Date of death	January 23, 1953
Place of death	Washington, D.C., USA