New Hampshire
Gov. Henry Wilder Keyes
- January 2, 1917 - January 6, 1919
- Republican
- May 23, 1862
- June 19, 1938
- Vermont
- Harvard University
- Married Frances Parkinson; three children
- Senator
About
HENRY W. KEYES, the sixty-fifth governor of New Hampshire, was born in Newbury, Vermont on May 23, 1862. His education was attained at Harvard University, where he graduated in 1887. Keyes became a successful cattle breeder, and was credited with the initiating the Holstein-Friesian breed in the United States. He also was instrumental in founding the Woodsville National Bank in 1897. Keyes first entered politics as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, a position he held from 1891 to 1895 and 1915 to 1917. He also served in the New Hampshire State Senate from 1903 to 1905; was the treasurer of the State License Commission from 1903 to 1915; and served as chairman of the State Excise Commission from 1915 to 1917. Keyes next secured the Republican gubernatorial nomination, and was elected governor by a popular vote in 1916. During his tenure, several World War I measures were implemented; a state library commission was established; a stock fraud protection law was enacted; and the Boston and Maine Railroad restructure plan was initiated. While still in office, Keyes won election to the U.S. Senate, a position he held from 1919 to 1937. Governor Henry W. Keyes passed away on June 19, 1938, and was buried in the Oxbow Cemetery in Newbury, Vermont.
Source
Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources
Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 3, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.
