Walter K. Farnsworth

Walter Kellogg Farnsworth (November 17, 1870 – August 2, 1929) was a Vermont attorney and politician who served as lieutenant governor.

Walter K. Farnsworth
Farnsworth as Secretary of the Vermont Senate, 1903
54th Lieutenant Governor of Vermont
In office January 8, 1925 – January 6, 1927
Governor	Franklin S. Billings
Preceded by	Franklin S. Billings
Succeeded by	Hollister Jackson
Personal details
Born	November 17, 1870 Windsor, Vermont
Died	August 2, 1929 (aged 58) Rutland, Vermont
Profession	Politician Attorney Horse breeder Judge

Life and career

Farnsworth was born in Windsor, Vermont on November 17, 1870. He attended high school in Chester and Woodstock, and then studied law. He attained admission to the bar and established a practice in Rutland. Farnsworth was also a horse breeder and an active member of the Rutland County Agricultural Society.[1][2][3]

A Republican, Farnsworth began his involvement in politics and government by serving as a Justice of the Peace and as Assistant Secretary and Secretary of the Vermont Senate in the late 1890s and early 1900s.[4][5]

Farnsworth was Judge of the Rutland City Court from 1907 to 1909. In 1908 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for Secretary of State.[6][7]

In 1912 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for a seat in the United States House of Representatives.[8] Farnsworth also became involved with the Progressive Party, but later returned to the Republican fold.[9]

In 1918 he ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Vermont Secretary of State.[10][11]

Farnsworth subsequently moved to Burlington.[12] He was elected to the Vermont Senate in 1922 and served one term, also serving as Senate President.[13][14]

In 1924 Farnsworth won election as Lieutenant Governor, and served one term, 1925 to 1927.[15][16]

Farnsworth ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1926, losing the Republican primary to John E. Weeks.[17][18][19]

Farnsworth died in Rutland on August 2, 1929.[20] He was interred at Ascutney Cemetery in Windsor, Vermont.

Family

Farnsworth was the son of attorney Jonathan Brewer Farnsworth and Maria Augusta (Hatch) Farnsworth.[21] Farnsworth's siblings included brothers George Henry (b. 1860), James Slayton (b. 1866), and Arthur White (b. 1872).[22] Farnsworth never married, and had no children.[23]

Sources

1. Manual of the Legislature of Vermont, published by Vermont General Assembly, 1904, page 88
2. Who's Who in New England, published by A. N. Marquis, Chicago, Volume 1, page 351
3. Newspaper article, Horse Shows to Aid Trotting Meetings, New York Times, November 12, 1908
4. Journal of the Senate of the State of Vermont, published by Vermont General Assembly, 1899, page 6
5. List of Secretaries of the Senate, published by Vermont Secretary of State, 2011
6. The University of Vermont: The First Two Hundred Years, by Robert Vincent Daniels, 1991, page 209
7. Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography, compiled by Prentiss Cutler Dodge, 1912, pages 185 to 186
8. Vermont: The Green Mountain State, by Walter Hill Crockett, Volume 4, 1921, page 430
9. Newspaper article, Third Ticket in Vermont, New York Times, July 24, 1912
10. 1918 Primary Election Results, Office of the Vermont Secretary of State, Vermont State Archives, June 9, 2006, page 1
11. Newspaper article, Clement Wins in Vermont Primaries, Boston Globe, September 11, 1918
12. Vermont Year Book, Formerly Walton's Register, published by E. P. & G. S. Walton, Montpelier, 1925, page 371
13. Vermont Legislative Directory, published by Vermont General Assembly, 1923, page 408
14. List of Senate Presidents Pro Tempore, Office of the Vermont Secretary of State, Vermont State Archives, updated June 28, 2011, accessed December 26, 2011
15. 1924 Primary Election Results, Office of the Vermont Secretary of State, Vermont State Archives, June 9, 2006, page 1
16. List of Lieutenant Governors, published by Office of the Vermont Secretary of State, Vermont State Archives, as of January, 2011
17. 1926 Primary Election Results, Office of the Vermont Secretary of State Vermont State Archives, June 9, 2006, page 1
18. The History of Woodstock, Vermont, 1890-1983, by Peter S. Jennison, 1985, page 103
19. Newspaper article, Official Vermont Vote Tabulated, by Associated Press, Bridgeport Telegram, September 22, 1926
20. Vermont Death Records, 1909-2008, Record for Walter Kellogg Farnsworth, accessed December 26, 2011
21. Cutter, William Richard (1913). New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial. II. New York, NY: Lewis Historical Publishing Company. pp. 770–771.
22. New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial, pp. 770-771.
23. "Former Lieut.-Gov. Farnsworth Dies". Burlington Free Press. Burlington, VT. August 3, 1929. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

• Walter K. Farnsworth at Find a Grave