Francis W. Sargent
Encyclopedia
Francis William Sargent was the 64th Governor
of Massachusetts
from 1969 to 1975. Born in 1915 in Hamilton, Massachusetts
, he was known for his sharp wit and self-deprecating manner. A Republican, "Sarge" graduated from Charles River School
, Noble & Greenough School and was a student in the architecture program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
where he was a classmate and friend of I.M. Pei, although Sargent never graduated. He had served in World War II
and fought in Italy. He would earn a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. He was an avid fisherman on Cape Cod
and became interested in the environment because he was frustrated by overfishing and the use of illegal nets.
He was a dedicated conservationist who delivered the keynote address at MIT on the first Earth Day
in 1970. He had earlier served as state commissioner of natural resources for ten years, and went on to win appointment as state Commissioner of Public Works in 1964.
He ran for Lieutenant Governor
with the slogan "Put Sarge in Charge" and was elected in 1966, and in 1969, he became governor when Governor John Volpe (R) became secretary of Transportation under President Richard Nixon. In 1970, Sargent won election in his own right, defeating Boston Mayor
Kevin White.
and introduced a new corporate tax.
According to Barney Frank
's book The Story of America's Only Left-handed, Gay, Jewish Congressman by Stuart E. Weisberg, In the election of 1970, against Kevin White, White was the first mayor to declare the city had a race problem and that people did not want him to become governor and keep him as mayor. Frank said, "Sargent was seen as a good liberal and some liberals reasoned that if we elect Kevin White as governor, who knows who is going to be Mayor of Boston." Frank said it was Sargent's popularity that won him the election.
He was governor of the Commonwealth during the strife over school busing following Judge W. Arthur Garrity's 1974 decision to desegregate
Boston public schools through court-mandated redistricting of the Boston school system, including busing some students out of their neighborhoods to end a pattern of racial segregation in the schools. Sargent had previously vetoed attempts to repeal or water-down the state's Racial Imbalance Act, which prohibited state aid to racially imbalanced school districts. When Sargent called for obeying the federal court order, pro-segregation forces complained that he and his neighbors in the well-to-do suburban Boston town of Dover, Massachusetts
did not have to share any of the burden of desegregating Boston schools. Carl Sheridan, a former Dover
police chief, said this of the incident, "I think people will most remember him for the busing situation. I remember one time a bus load of demonstrators came out to Dover looking for Sargent and his house. But because the town had no street lights, they got out of the bus and were standing in the pitch black. They got back in the bus and left. Sargent was still laughing about that two weeks ago."
Other accomplishments of the Sargent administration were far reaching. Statewide laws protecting the environment and wetlands were instituted, and Sargent advocated the introduction of no-fault auto insurance.
Governor Sargent was very much a man of his time. He ordered the flag to half-mast in recognition of the student killings at Kent State, was the keynote speaker at the first Earth Day at MIT, and sponsored legislation challenging the legality of the war in Vietnam
.
Sargent also created weekend furlough program for convicts. Convicted first-degree murderers were not eligible for furlough. After the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
ruled that this right extended to first-degree murderers. Willie Horton
was released on June 6, 1986 for a weekend furlough, but did not return. On April 3, 1987 in Oxon Hill, Maryland, Horton twice raped a local woman after pistol-whipping, knifing, binding, and gagging her fiancé. He then stole the car belonging to the man he had assaulted. He was later captured by police after a chase. On October 20, Horton was sentenced in Maryland to two consecutive life terms plus 85 years. The sentencing judge, Vincent J. Femia, refused to return Horton to Massachusetts, saying, "I'm not prepared to take the chance that Mr. Horton might again be furloughed or otherwise released. This man should never draw a breath of free air again." The Massachusetts legislature quickly passed a bill prohibiting furloughs for such inmates. However, in 1976, Michael Dukakis
vetoed this bill.
He also created the Massachusetts Appeals Court
in 1972, and elected Alan M. Hale, who was a justice of the Superior Court at the time, along with David Rose, Edmund Keville, Reuben Goodman, Donald Grant, and Christopher Armstrong, and were sworn under oath in October 1972. Hale said of the experience, "I wasn't too darn anxious to come here. I liked what I was doing. I enjoyed the experience on the Superior Court, meeting people and lawyers all over the State. I didn't want to leave, but the challenge of setting up an entirely new court was one I could not refuse." The Governor went on to speak of Chief Justice Hale and his five associates, "I have sought individuals who have a proven record of outstanding legal accomplishment, wisdom and good judgment. It is my belief that the men we have selected will allow this court to take its rightful place in our judicial system. It is a bench both balanced and responsive. It will, from the outset, be able to shoulder its full share of an appellate overload which for many years has been staggering." Sargent called the creation of the Appeals Court "the single most significant step in judicial reform in Massachusetts this century."
He retired from politics after his defeat for reelection by Michael Dukakis
in November 1974. He died in 1998 in Dover, Massachusetts
, and is buried at the Highland Cemetery in Dover, Massachusetts
.
and advocates of a multi-modal
urban transportation system by canceling most highway construction inside Route 128
, with the exception of the Northeast Expressway
in 1970. Sargent became a strong advocate for changing the federal laws governing aid to states for highway construction so that more funds were available for mass transit projects such as subways and light-rail vehicles
.
Frederick P. Salvucci
, an engineer, said this of Sargent and the cancellation of the inner belt:
Sargent also called in Alan Altshuler, a political science professor at MIT take a new look at where we were headed in transportation policy. Sargent made him Secretary of Transportation and he presided over the Boston Transportation Planning Review
. This review basically led to the stopping of the inner belt and the southwest expressway. Frederick P. Salvucci
called them "two major very destructive interstate highways". But, the funds were reallocated towards public transportation, and saw the extension of the Red Line to Braintree
and the relocation of the Orange Line.
and two daughters, Fay of Acton
and Jay of Middletown
. She helped to launch the Doric Dame, a group of volunteers that led tours of the Massachusetts State House
. She died on August 15, 2008, peacefully in her sleep.
Sargent's son, Francis W. "Bill" Sargent, Jr. was a candidate for the United States House of Representatives
seat in Massachusetts's 10th congressional district
in 1996. He lost the Republican nomination to Edward B. Teague III
. In 1978
Sargent, Jr. was considered by the State Republican Committee to succeed William A. Casey as the Republican nominee for Massachusetts State Auditor after Casey dropped out to support Democrat Edward J. King
in the Governor's race
.
Governor of Massachusetts
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...
of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
from 1969 to 1975. Born in 1915 in Hamilton, Massachusetts
Hamilton, Massachusetts
Hamilton is a town located in the eastern central portion of Essex County in eastern Massachusetts. It is primarily a suburban bedroom community, most commonly known for its equestrian estates...
, he was known for his sharp wit and self-deprecating manner. A Republican, "Sarge" graduated from Charles River School
Charles River School
Charles River School was founded by parents on the banks of the Charles River in Needham, Massachusetts, USA, in 1911. In 1917, the school moved to Dover, Massachusetts. Today the school serves children from Pre-Kindergarten to Grade Eight...
, Noble & Greenough School and was a student in the architecture program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
where he was a classmate and friend of I.M. Pei, although Sargent never graduated. He had served in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and fought in Italy. He would earn a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. He was an avid fisherman on Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
and became interested in the environment because he was frustrated by overfishing and the use of illegal nets.
He was a dedicated conservationist who delivered the keynote address at MIT on the first Earth Day
Earth Day
Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The name and concept of Earth Day was allegedly pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the...
in 1970. He had earlier served as state commissioner of natural resources for ten years, and went on to win appointment as state Commissioner of Public Works in 1964.
He ran for Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
with the slogan "Put Sarge in Charge" and was elected in 1966, and in 1969, he became governor when Governor John Volpe (R) became secretary of Transportation under President Richard Nixon. In 1970, Sargent won election in his own right, defeating Boston Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Kevin White.
Policies as governor
When he first entered office, the budget was in turmoil because of spending increases on welfare and other benefits. He tightened rules for qualifying for MedicaidMedicaid
Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent...
and introduced a new corporate tax.
According to Barney Frank
Barney Frank
Barney Frank is the U.S. Representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, he is the former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and is considered the most prominent gay politician in the United States.Born and raised in New Jersey, Frank graduated from Harvard College and...
's book The Story of America's Only Left-handed, Gay, Jewish Congressman by Stuart E. Weisberg, In the election of 1970, against Kevin White, White was the first mayor to declare the city had a race problem and that people did not want him to become governor and keep him as mayor. Frank said, "Sargent was seen as a good liberal and some liberals reasoned that if we elect Kevin White as governor, who knows who is going to be Mayor of Boston." Frank said it was Sargent's popularity that won him the election.
He was governor of the Commonwealth during the strife over school busing following Judge W. Arthur Garrity's 1974 decision to desegregate
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
Boston public schools through court-mandated redistricting of the Boston school system, including busing some students out of their neighborhoods to end a pattern of racial segregation in the schools. Sargent had previously vetoed attempts to repeal or water-down the state's Racial Imbalance Act, which prohibited state aid to racially imbalanced school districts. When Sargent called for obeying the federal court order, pro-segregation forces complained that he and his neighbors in the well-to-do suburban Boston town of Dover, Massachusetts
Dover, Massachusetts
Dover is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,589 at the 2010 census.Located about southwest of downtown Boston, Dover is a residential town nestled on the south banks of the Charles River. Almost all of the residential zoning requires or larger...
did not have to share any of the burden of desegregating Boston schools. Carl Sheridan, a former Dover
Dover, New Hampshire
Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, in the United States of America. The population was 29,987 at the 2010 census, the largest in the New Hampshire Seacoast region...
police chief, said this of the incident, "I think people will most remember him for the busing situation. I remember one time a bus load of demonstrators came out to Dover looking for Sargent and his house. But because the town had no street lights, they got out of the bus and were standing in the pitch black. They got back in the bus and left. Sargent was still laughing about that two weeks ago."
Other accomplishments of the Sargent administration were far reaching. Statewide laws protecting the environment and wetlands were instituted, and Sargent advocated the introduction of no-fault auto insurance.
Governor Sargent was very much a man of his time. He ordered the flag to half-mast in recognition of the student killings at Kent State, was the keynote speaker at the first Earth Day at MIT, and sponsored legislation challenging the legality of the war in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
.
Sargent also created weekend furlough program for convicts. Convicted first-degree murderers were not eligible for furlough. After the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The SJC has the distinction of being the oldest continuously functioning appellate court in the Western Hemisphere.-History:...
ruled that this right extended to first-degree murderers. Willie Horton
Willie Horton
William R. "Willie" Horton is an American convicted felon who, while serving a life sentence for murder, without the possibility of parole, was the beneficiary of a Massachusetts weekend furlough program...
was released on June 6, 1986 for a weekend furlough, but did not return. On April 3, 1987 in Oxon Hill, Maryland, Horton twice raped a local woman after pistol-whipping, knifing, binding, and gagging her fiancé. He then stole the car belonging to the man he had assaulted. He was later captured by police after a chase. On October 20, Horton was sentenced in Maryland to two consecutive life terms plus 85 years. The sentencing judge, Vincent J. Femia, refused to return Horton to Massachusetts, saying, "I'm not prepared to take the chance that Mr. Horton might again be furloughed or otherwise released. This man should never draw a breath of free air again." The Massachusetts legislature quickly passed a bill prohibiting furloughs for such inmates. However, in 1976, Michael Dukakis
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
vetoed this bill.
He also created the Massachusetts Appeals Court
Massachusetts Appeals Court
The Massachusetts Appeals Court is the intermediate appellate court of Massachusetts. It was created in 1972 as a court of general appellate jurisdiction...
in 1972, and elected Alan M. Hale, who was a justice of the Superior Court at the time, along with David Rose, Edmund Keville, Reuben Goodman, Donald Grant, and Christopher Armstrong, and were sworn under oath in October 1972. Hale said of the experience, "I wasn't too darn anxious to come here. I liked what I was doing. I enjoyed the experience on the Superior Court, meeting people and lawyers all over the State. I didn't want to leave, but the challenge of setting up an entirely new court was one I could not refuse." The Governor went on to speak of Chief Justice Hale and his five associates, "I have sought individuals who have a proven record of outstanding legal accomplishment, wisdom and good judgment. It is my belief that the men we have selected will allow this court to take its rightful place in our judicial system. It is a bench both balanced and responsive. It will, from the outset, be able to shoulder its full share of an appellate overload which for many years has been staggering." Sargent called the creation of the Appeals Court "the single most significant step in judicial reform in Massachusetts this century."
He retired from politics after his defeat for reelection by Michael Dukakis
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
in November 1974. He died in 1998 in Dover, Massachusetts
Dover, Massachusetts
Dover is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,589 at the 2010 census.Located about southwest of downtown Boston, Dover is a residential town nestled on the south banks of the Charles River. Almost all of the residential zoning requires or larger...
, and is buried at the Highland Cemetery in Dover, Massachusetts
Dover, Massachusetts
Dover is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,589 at the 2010 census.Located about southwest of downtown Boston, Dover is a residential town nestled on the south banks of the Charles River. Almost all of the residential zoning requires or larger...
.
Cabinet
| The Sargent Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|
| OFFICE | NAME | TERM |
| Governor Governor of Massachusetts The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:... |
Francis W. Sargent | 1969 1975 |
| Lt. Governor Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts The Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts... |
Donald R. Dwight Donald R. Dwight Donald Rathburn Dwight was lieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 1971 to 1975. He served as a Republican alongside Governor Francis W. Sargent.... |
1971 1975 |
| Secretary of Transportation | Alan Altshuler | 1972 1975 |
| Secretary of Communities and Development | Thomas I. Atkins Thomas I. Atkins Thomas Irving Atkins was an African American attorney and politician who served as a member of the Boston City Council and General Counsel of the NAACP.-Early life:... |
1971 1975 |
| Secretary of Environmental Affairs | Charles H. W. Foster | 1971 1975 |
| Secretary of Consumer Affairs | William I. Cowin William I. Cowin William Irvin Cowin is an American jurist, politician, and state cabinet secretary who served as Massachusetts Secretary of Consumer Affairs from 1971 to 1972 and Massachusetts Secretary of Administration and Finance from 1972 to 1974... John R. Verani |
1971 1972 1972 1975 |
| Secretary of Human Services | Peter C. Goldmark, Jr. Lucy W. Benson Lucy W. Benson Lucy Wilson Benson was United States Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs from 1977 to 1980. When Benson was named to this post, it was the highest position ever held by a woman in the United States Department of State.-References:... |
1971 1974 1974 1975 |
| Secretary of Elder Affairs | Rose Claffey | 1974 1975 |
| Commissioner of Administration and Finance | Donald R. Dwight Donald R. Dwight Donald Rathburn Dwight was lieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 1971 to 1975. He served as a Republican alongside Governor Francis W. Sargent.... Charles R. Shepard Robert Yasi William I. Cowin William I. Cowin William Irvin Cowin is an American jurist, politician, and state cabinet secretary who served as Massachusetts Secretary of Consumer Affairs from 1971 to 1972 and Massachusetts Secretary of Administration and Finance from 1972 to 1974... David Marchand |
1969 1970 1970 1971 1971 1972 1972 1974 1974 1975 |
| Secretary of Public Safety | Richard McLaughlin | 1971 1975 |
| Secretary of Energy | Henry Lee | 1971 1975 |
Anti Inner Belt
He achieved renown among conservationistsConservation movement
The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....
and advocates of a multi-modal
Intermodal passenger transport
Intermodal passenger transport involves more than one mode of transport of passengers. Some modes of transportation have always been intermodal; for example, most major airports have extensive facilities for automobile parking and have good rail or bus connections to the cities nearby. Urban bus...
urban transportation system by canceling most highway construction inside Route 128
Route 128 (Massachusetts)
Route 128, also known as the Yankee Division Highway , and originally the Circumferential Highway, is a partial beltway around Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The majority of the highway is built to freeway standards, and about 3/5 of it is part of the Interstate Highway System...
, with the exception of the Northeast Expressway
Northeast Expressway (Boston)
The Northeast Expressway consists of the elevated expressway from the junction of Interstate 93 and U.S. Route 1 in Charlestown, through Charlestown, crossing the Mystic River, through Chelsea, Revere. The highway becomes a surface expressway in northern Chelsea. It terminates at the Revere-Saugus...
in 1970. Sargent became a strong advocate for changing the federal laws governing aid to states for highway construction so that more funds were available for mass transit projects such as subways and light-rail vehicles
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
.
Frederick P. Salvucci
Frederick P. Salvucci
Frederick Peter Salvucci is a civil engineer specializing in transportation, in particular infrastructure, urban transportation, public transportation and institutional development in decision-making. He was the Secretary of Transportation for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under Governor...
, an engineer, said this of Sargent and the cancellation of the inner belt:
Yes, of course. In many ways the most thrilling moment in the history of the antihighway fight was when we won. And then Governor Sargent went on television and said, basically, he had been the public works commissioner who had fought for the inner belt earlier in his career and, as governor he said it was a mistake and "I'm going to admit that mistake and stop the program and we're going to shift towards public transportation." I mean it was thrilling. It was thrilling for us that had worked hard on it, but also, in fairness to Sargent how often do you see a public official who gets up and says, "I was wrong"? I mean it was an incredibly courageous hing for Frank Sargent to do, and I'm a Democrat. I don't say many good things about republicans. But he was a great man. I mean he had worked for this program. He always had an environmentalist bent to him. [A] lot of people do political analysis as to why he did this or that. I think he just believed what he said. "This was a mistake and we're going to go in a different direction." It was a thrilling moment in the history of it.
And then we actually moved in that new direction. I mean we shifted the funds, partly under Governor Sargent, partly under Governor DukakisMichael DukakisMichael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
. Those monies that were going to go into destroying those neighborhoods or building the highways were shifted into refurbishing the commuter rail system, extending the Red Line, relocating the Orange Line, basically rebuilding the public transportation infrastructure of the city. That came out of that decision and another component of the same decision -- you can go check that speech that Frank Sargent gave -- was that the only highways that would continue to be studied within Route 128 would be the depression and widening of the Central Artery and the extension of I-90 over to Logan in an additional tunnel, the two components that are today called the Big Dig. Those were really part of that, if you will, anti-highway -- "anti-highway's" probably the wrong name -- pro-city decision that was made by Frank Sargent to shift towards a transportation strategy that would build the city instead of destroying it.
And a major component of that was, stop building destructive roads. Another major component was, put a lot of money into improving public transportation, and the third component that we're seeing built now is, take the existing Central Artery that's there and fix it. I mean fix it both from a transportation point of view, because it doesn't work, but also fix what it did to the city by etting it underground and knit the city back together again. That was a very thrilling moment in my life, when Sargent did it. And I've always respected him a great deal because of the courage that it took to do that.
Sargent also called in Alan Altshuler, a political science professor at MIT take a new look at where we were headed in transportation policy. Sargent made him Secretary of Transportation and he presided over the Boston Transportation Planning Review
Boston Transportation Planning Review
Boston Transportation Planning Review is a transportation planning program for metropolitan Boston, United States which was responsible for analyzing and re-designing the entire area-wide transit and highway system in the 1970s. The major contractors involved were Alan M...
. This review basically led to the stopping of the inner belt and the southwest expressway. Frederick P. Salvucci
Frederick P. Salvucci
Frederick Peter Salvucci is a civil engineer specializing in transportation, in particular infrastructure, urban transportation, public transportation and institutional development in decision-making. He was the Secretary of Transportation for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under Governor...
called them "two major very destructive interstate highways". But, the funds were reallocated towards public transportation, and saw the extension of the Red Line to Braintree
Braintree, Massachusetts
The Town of Braintree is a suburban city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Although officially known as a town, Braintree adopted a municipal charter, effective 2008, with a mayor-council form of government and is considered a city under Massachusetts law. The population was 35,744...
and the relocation of the Orange Line.
Personal life
While at MIT, he became a member of the Number Six Club, also known as the Tau Chapter of Delta Psi. Francis W. Sargent married Jessie Fay Sargent in 1938. She wrote a memoir in 1973 about their time in office, entitled The Governor's Wife: A View from Within. They have a son, Bill Sargent of IpswichIpswich, Massachusetts
Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,987 at the 2000 census. Home to Willowdale State Forest and Sandy Point State Reservation, Ipswich includes the southern part of Plum Island...
and two daughters, Fay of Acton
Acton, Massachusetts
Acton is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States about twenty-one miles west-northwest of Boston along Route 2 west of Concord and about ten miles southwest of Lowell. The population was 21,924 at the 2010 census...
and Jay of Middletown
Middletown, Rhode Island
Middletown is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 16,150 at the 2010 census. It lies to the south of Portsmouth and to the north of Newport on Aquidneck Island, hence the name "Middletown."-Geography:...
. She helped to launch the Doric Dame, a group of volunteers that led tours of the Massachusetts State House
Massachusetts State House
The Massachusetts State House, also known as the Massachusetts Statehouse or the "New" State House, is the state capitol and house of government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is located in Boston in the neighborhood Beacon Hill...
. She died on August 15, 2008, peacefully in her sleep.
Sargent's son, Francis W. "Bill" Sargent, Jr. was a candidate for 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...
seat in Massachusetts's 10th congressional district
Massachusetts's 10th congressional district
Massachusetts's 10th congressional district is a political constituency that includes parts of the South Shore of Massachusetts, and all of Cape Cod and the islands. With a population of 635,901 and a land area of , it is the most populous of Massachusetts's ten congressional districts and the...
in 1996. He lost the Republican nomination to Edward B. Teague III
Edward B. Teague III
Edward B. Teague III is an American politician who represented the 1st Barnstable District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1989 to 1997...
. In 1978
Massachusetts general election, 1978
A Massachusetts general election was held on November 7, 1978 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.The election included:* statewide elections for United States Senator, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Treasurer, and Auditor;* district elections for U.S...
Sargent, Jr. was considered by the State Republican Committee to succeed William A. Casey as the Republican nominee for Massachusetts State Auditor after Casey dropped out to support Democrat Edward J. King
Edward J. King
Edward Joseph "Ed" King was the 66th Governor of the U.S. state of Massachusetts from 1979 to 1983.Born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and a graduate of Boston College and Bentley College, King played professional football as a guard with the All-America Football Conference Buffalo Bisons from 1948 to...
in the Governor's race
Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1978
The 1978 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1978. Massachusetts Port Authority executive director Edward J. King was elected to a four-year term, from January 4, 1979 until January 6, 1983...
.