- Lucius F. C. Garvin
Lucius Fayette Clark Garvin (
November 13 ,1841 -October 2 ,1922 ) wasGovernor of Rhode Island from 1903-1905.Biography
Origins and family
Lucius Garvin was born in 1841 in
Knoxville, Tennessee . His father, James Garvin, was a professor atEast Tennessee University .In 1862, Lucius graduated fromAmherst College . With theAmerican Civil War under way, he enlisted as a private in Company E of the51st Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry .After the war, Garvin was trained as a physician at
Harvard Medical School . He interned atBoston City Hospital and graduated in 1867, setting up a private practice inPawtucket, Rhode Island . In 1869, he married Lucy Waterman Southmayd (b. 1833). They had three daughters: Ethel, Norma and Florence. In 1876, Garvin relocated toLonsdale, Rhode Island Political career
Garvin became involved in politics, serving first as town moderator for
Cumberland, Rhode Island in 1881. He became known as a progressive in the mold ofHenry George , championing a "Single Tax " andpopular initiative . As an advocate of labor, he spoke out to improve the working conditions of local textile factory workers and endorsed a shorter workday. As a Democrat, he was unusually successful in the Republican stronghold of the northeast.In 1883, Garvin was elected to the first of many terms in the
Rhode Island House of Representatives . He also served several terms in theRhode Island Senate , and campaigned persistently, but without success, to representRhode Island's 2nd congressional district . In 1902, he was elected to the first of two consecutive terms as Governor ofRhode Island . Due to theBrayton Act of 1901, passed by the securely Republican State Senate to limit the powers of the Governor's office, Garvin was unable to make any executive, legislative or judicial appointees.cite book
last=McLoughlin
first=William G.
authorlink=William G. McLoughlin
title=Rhode Island, a History
publisher=W.W. Norton & Company
year=1986
isbn=0393302717
pages=162 ] citation
first_name=Scott
last_name=MacKay
title="An Honest Voter is One Who Stays Bought"
newspaper=Providence Journal
year=1999
date=January 24, 1999
url=http://www.projo.com/specials/century/month1/124ri4.htm] He successfully fended off an electoral challenge from industrialistSamuel P. Colt in 1903, and was briefly discussed as a possible candidate to challenge incumbent presidentTheodore Roosevelt in the 1904 U.S. Presidential Election.citation
title=Garvin for Presidency: Boom for Rhode Island's Democratic Governor is Started
newspaper=New York Times
pages=1
year=1922
date=December 12, 1903 ]Garvin became identified with
anti-corruption reform, and was widely quoted on the subject. In a speech to theRhode Island General Assembly , he said: "Bribery is so common and has existed for so many years that the awful nature of the crime ceases to impress." He furnished information forLincoln Steffens 'muckraking article, "Rhode Island: A State for Sale," published in 1905 in "McClure's ".cite book
last=Steffens
first=Lincoln
authorlink=Lincoln Steffens
title=The Autobiography of Lincoln Steffens
isbn=1597140163
pages=467 ]Later life
Lucy Garvin had died 1898, and in 1907, Lucius married Sarah Emma Tomlinson, a graduate of
Perkins School for the Blind . They had two sons, Lucius and Sumner.Lucius Garvin died October 2, 1922 in his office in Lonsdale. His obituary in the "
New York Times " described him as "picturesque figure" known throughout the state, adding that he had never owned an automobile, preferring to travel bybicycle .Garvin was buried at
Swan Point Cemetery , inProvidence, Rhode Island .References
* cite book
last=Bicknell
first=Thomas Williams
title=History of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
publisher=The American Historical Society, Inc.
date=1920
location=New York
pages=84-85
* citation
title=Ex-Gov. Garvin Dies at Age of 81
newspaper=New York Times
pages=18
year=1922
date=October 3, 1922Notes
External links
* [http://www.sec.state.ri.us/library/image/statehouseportraits/garvin-lucius.jpg/view Lucius Garvin statehouse portrait]
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/gartner-garwood.html Lucius Garvin at the Political Graveyard]
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