Edward H. Gillette
Encyclopedia
Edward Hooker Gillette was a nineteenth-century populist
politician and editor from Iowa
. He was elected on the Greenback Party
ticket to represent Iowa's 7th congressional district
for only one term in Congress, but remained active in populist political movements.
Gillette was the son of Senator
Francis Gillette
and Elisabeth Daggett Hooker, a descendant of Rev. Thomas Hooker
, and the brother of actor
/playwright
William Gillette
.
Born in Bloomfield, Connecticut
, he attended public schools in Hartford, Connecticut
as a child and went on to attend the New York State College of Agriculture
in Ovid, New York.
and brother-in-law John Hooker had purchased shares in a concern which owned thousands of acres of sprawling Iowa landscape. Edward left college in 1863 to oversee their investment. He settled on a large farm outside of Des Moines, the new capital of the nation’s newly-added twenty-ninth state. He raised high-bred livestock and later purchased another farm in Walnut Township, four miles west of Des Moines. There he engaged in several business enterprises, including building and manufacturing, while developing his farm.
On June 26, 1866, Edward married Sophia Theresa Stoddard, who had formerly been betrothed to his fallen brother, Robert, who had been killed at Fort Fisher
, near Wilmington, North Carolina, the morning after the surrender of the fort.
Edward served as editor of the Iowa Tribune, the central organ of the Populist party of Iowa. He also served as chairman of the Greenback Party's National Committee, and was a delegate to its National Convention in 1876. In 1878, Gillette was elected as a Greenback Party member to the United States House of Representatives
, serving in the 46th Congress
with fellow Iowa Greenback Party member James B. Weaver from 1879 to 1881.
resulted in the formation of the Greenback Party, which merged with the Democratic Party
two years later. Edward, representing the 7th Congressional District, ran for a seat in the 46th Congress with the directness and forthright style of his father. The Greenback-Labor Party, supporting issues important in the rural west at the time, pulled in more than a million votes and sent fifteen congressmen, including Edward, to Washington in 1878.
On October 10 the Hartford Times reported,
During his Congressional term, Edward also served as chairman of the State Central Committee of the Union Labor Party.
Edward served from March 4, 1879 to March 3, 1881. The Democrats put up their own candidate in the next election, dividing the votes and giving an easy victory to his Republican opponent, former diplomat John A. Kasson
, who was returning to Congress for the third time.
candidate for Iowa Secretary of State
, but lost.
He and Sophia had three children, a son and two daughters. After divorcing Sophia, Edward married Mrs. Jennie Isabel Apple on February 28, 1907.
Edward served for ten years as editor of the Iowa Tribune, was chairman of the National Committee Union Labor/Populist Party, and served for years as one of the directors of the Iowa Humane Society.
Congressman Gillette lived out his life on his farm, Clover Hills Place, near Valley Junction, Iowa
, close to Des Moines, and died there on August 14, 1918, at the age of seventy-eight. He was interred in the nearby Glendale Cemetery
in Valley Junction, the only family member not buried in the Hooker or Gillette family plots in Farmington
, Connecticut
.
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
politician and editor from Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. He was elected on the Greenback Party
United States Greenback Party
The Greenback Party was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology that was active between 1874 and 1884. Its name referred to paper money, or "greenbacks," that had been issued during the American Civil War and afterward...
ticket to represent Iowa's 7th congressional district
Iowa's 7th congressional district
Iowa's 7th congressional district is a former congressional district in Iowa. It was eliminated after the 1970 election, leaving Iowa with six congressional districts. The state has since been reduced to five congressional districts.-Redistricting:...
for only one term in Congress, but remained active in populist political movements.
Gillette was the son of Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Francis Gillette
Francis Gillette
Francis Gillette was a politician from Connecticut, USA. He was the father of playwright William Gillette and politician and editor Edward H. Gillette....
and Elisabeth Daggett Hooker, a descendant of Rev. Thomas Hooker
Thomas Hooker
Thomas Hooker was a prominent Puritan colonial leader, who founded the Colony of Connecticut after dissenting with Puritan leaders in Massachusetts...
, and the brother of actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
/playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
William Gillette
William Gillette
William Hooker Gillette was an American actor, playwright and stage-manager in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who is best remembered today for portraying Sherlock Holmes....
.
Born in Bloomfield, Connecticut
Bloomfield, Connecticut
Bloomfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,626 at the 2009 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and 0.2 square miles is water.Bloomfield is bordered by Windsor to the...
, he attended public schools in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
as a child and went on to attend the New York State College of Agriculture
Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
The New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is a statutory college at Cornell University, a private university located in Ithaca, New York...
in Ovid, New York.
Early adult life
Foreseeing westward expansion after the war, Francis GilletteFrancis Gillette
Francis Gillette was a politician from Connecticut, USA. He was the father of playwright William Gillette and politician and editor Edward H. Gillette....
and brother-in-law John Hooker had purchased shares in a concern which owned thousands of acres of sprawling Iowa landscape. Edward left college in 1863 to oversee their investment. He settled on a large farm outside of Des Moines, the new capital of the nation’s newly-added twenty-ninth state. He raised high-bred livestock and later purchased another farm in Walnut Township, four miles west of Des Moines. There he engaged in several business enterprises, including building and manufacturing, while developing his farm.
On June 26, 1866, Edward married Sophia Theresa Stoddard, who had formerly been betrothed to his fallen brother, Robert, who had been killed at Fort Fisher
Fort Fisher
Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865....
, near Wilmington, North Carolina, the morning after the surrender of the fort.
Edward served as editor of the Iowa Tribune, the central organ of the Populist party of Iowa. He also served as chairman of the Greenback Party's National Committee, and was a delegate to its National Convention in 1876. In 1878, Gillette was elected as a Greenback Party member to the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, serving in the 46th Congress
46th United States Congress
The Forty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1879 to March 4, 1881, during the last two years of...
with fellow Iowa Greenback Party member James B. Weaver from 1879 to 1881.
Political career
The May 1876 convention in IndianapolisIndianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
resulted in the formation of the Greenback Party, which merged with the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
two years later. Edward, representing the 7th Congressional District, ran for a seat in the 46th Congress with the directness and forthright style of his father. The Greenback-Labor Party, supporting issues important in the rural west at the time, pulled in more than a million votes and sent fifteen congressmen, including Edward, to Washington in 1878.
On October 10 the Hartford Times reported,
“This is certainly a great triumph for this Hartford young man... nominated for Congress by the Greenbackers, then by the Democrats, in a district that at the last election gave a Republican majority of 6,000, and went into the canvass without a dollar to aid him. Against the money and the organization of the Republicans he brought nothing but a personally spirited contest, and depended wholly for what money he obtained upon the sales of newspapers and documents which he carried with him, and sold at 10 cents each from the platform, and by going personally about among the crowd. That he should, under such circumstances, annihilate a Republican majority of 6,000, and change it into a majority of about 1,000 the other way, is a testimony to the popularity, and doubtless also to the favor with which his political ideas are rewarded in Iowa.”
During his Congressional term, Edward also served as chairman of the State Central Committee of the Union Labor Party.
Edward served from March 4, 1879 to March 3, 1881. The Democrats put up their own candidate in the next election, dividing the votes and giving an easy victory to his Republican opponent, former diplomat John A. Kasson
John A. Kasson
John Adam Kasson was a nineteenth century lawyer, politician and diplomat from south-central Iowa. Elected to the U.S...
, who was returning to Congress for the third time.
After term in congress
Following his return from Washington, Edward remained active in local and party politics in the populist cause. In 1893 he was the People's PartyPopulist Party (United States)
The People's Party, also known as the "Populists", was a short-lived political party in the United States established in 1891. It was most important in 1892-96, then rapidly faded away...
candidate for Iowa Secretary of State
Iowa Secretary of State
The Iowa Secretary of State is a constitutional officer of the U.S. state of Iowa and is elected every four years. The Office of the Secretary of State is divided into four divisions: Elections and Voter Registration, Business Services, Administrative Services, and Communications and Publications...
, but lost.
He and Sophia had three children, a son and two daughters. After divorcing Sophia, Edward married Mrs. Jennie Isabel Apple on February 28, 1907.
Edward served for ten years as editor of the Iowa Tribune, was chairman of the National Committee Union Labor/Populist Party, and served for years as one of the directors of the Iowa Humane Society.
Congressman Gillette lived out his life on his farm, Clover Hills Place, near Valley Junction, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, close to Des Moines, and died there on August 14, 1918, at the age of seventy-eight. He was interred in the nearby Glendale Cemetery
Glendale Cemetery
Glendale Cemetery is a cemetery and historic district located in Akron, Ohio. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.-History:...
in Valley Junction, the only family member not buried in the Hooker or Gillette family plots in Farmington
Farmington, Connecticut
Farmington is a town located in Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The population was 25,340 at the 2010 census. It is home to the world headquarters of several large corporations including Carrier Corporation, Otis Elevator Company, and Carvel...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
.
External links
- Edward H. Gillette at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...