Walter F. Osborne

Last updated

Walter F. Osborne was an American journalist, hotel owner, and government official from Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Contents

Early life

Osborne was born in Vermont. In 1886, he graduated from Dartmouth College. While at Dartmouth, Osborne was a member of the Dartmouth Big Green baseball team. [1]

Journalism

After college, Osborne went to work as a reporter for the Springfield Republican . In 1890 moved to Gloucester and became a Cape Ann correspondent for the Boston Herald . [1]

Hoteling

In 1893, Osborne acquired an interest in East Gloucester's Harbor View Hotel. [1] In 1896 he was assaulted by a patron during a dispute over the guest's cousin's bill. [2] [3] Around 1903, he left the Herald to go into the hotel business full-time. [1]

Politics

Osborne's first political involvement came as a member of the Democratic Party. Around 1896 he switched to the Republican Party. In 1899 he was elected to the Gloucester Republican Committee as a representative from Ward 1. [1] He represented Ward 1 on the Gloucester Commons Council and was the president of that body in 1903. [4]

Collector of Customs

In 1911, U.S. Representative Augustus Peabody Gardner chose to base his recommendation for Collector of Customs for the Port of Gloucester on balloting in Gloucester. The incumbent collector William H. Jordan and Gloucester Republican City Committee Chairman Ralph W. Dennen both ran for the position. Osborne initially supported Jordan, as Osborne did not believe anyone was going challenge him, but switched his endorsement when Dennen entered the race. Jordan won the race handedly, however, there was ample evidence that many of the ballots turned in were filled out fraudulently. According to Gardner, the signatures on many of the ballots voting for Jordan were obvious imitations or bore absolutely no resemblance to the genuine signatures of the men who were propertied to have signed it. Some of the signatures even contained misspellings of the alleged voter's name or initials. A number of ballots also appeared to be written by the same hand. As a result of this fraud, Gardner refused to recommend Jordan. However, because he believed Jordan would still have won without the fraudulent ballots, he refused to recommend Dennen as well. Instead he recommended that Osborne be nominated for the position. [5] Although he was not recommended by Gardner, Jordan went to Washington to make a case for his reappointment. After Jordan's presentation, President William Howard Taft was torn between the two men. However, he chose to appoint Osborne based on the recommendation of Treasury Secretary Franklin MacVeagh. [6]

As Collector, Osborne oversaw a Customs district that included Gloucester, Rockport, Manachester, and Essex. [7] He supervised a staff of fifteen Customs employees and the use of the Customs yacht, Dreamer. He received a salary of $300 a year, however various fees were estimated to put his pay between $4,000 and $5,000 a year. [1] Osborne remained Collector until July 1, 1913, when all customs districts in Massachusetts were combined into one district and the position was eliminated. [7]

Personal life and death

In 1895, Osborne married Harriet C. Brazier. In addition to their home in Gloucester, the Osbornes also had a winter home in Brighton. [1]

Osborne died on October 8, 1918, due to complications from surgery. [8]

Related Research Articles

Local Media Group, Inc., formerly Dow Jones Local Media Group and Ottaway Newspapers Inc., owned newspapers, websites and niche publications in California, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon and Pennsylvania. It was headquartered in Campbell Hall, New York, and its flagship was the Times Herald-Record, serving Middletown and other suburbs of New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willfred W. Lufkin</span> American politician (1879–1934)

Willfred Weymouth Lufkin was an American politician who served as a United States representative from Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James J. Storrow</span> American businessman and politician (1864–1926)

James Jackson Storrow II was an American investment banker, government official, and scouting leader. He gave up a legal career to become a partner of Lee, Higginson & Co.. He was also involved with automobile business, first as president of General Motors, then with Nash Motors. Active in public life, Storrow was a member of Boston's city council and school committee and lost a close race for Mayor in 1910. A leader in the Boy Scouts of America, he was the organization's second president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Davis Sleeper</span> American antiquarian and interior decorator (1878-1934)

Henry Davis Sleeper was an American antiquarian, collector, and interior decorator best known for Beauport, his Gloucester, Massachusetts, country home that is "one of the most widely published houses of the twentieth century."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carroll Meins</span> American politician

Carroll Leach Meins was a political figure who served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party, and Collector of Customs for the Port of Boston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1984 United States presidential election in Massachusetts</span>

The 1984 United States presidential election in Massachusetts took place on November 6, 1984, as part of the 1984 United States presidential election, which was held throughout all 50 states and D.C. Voters chose 13 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James E. Tolman</span> American politician

James E. Tolman was an American lawyer, and politician who served as the mayor of Gloucester, Massachusetts, and as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry C. Foster</span> American politician

Harry Choate Foster was an American politician who served as a member of the Massachusetts General Court and as mayor of Gloucester, Massachusetts. He was expelled from the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1916 for conduct unbecoming a member of the General Court after he collected money from people interested in pending legislation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Garland (mayor)</span> American doctor and politician

Joseph Garland (1822–1902) was an American medical doctor and politician who served as Mayor of Gloucester, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John S. Parsons</span> American politician

John S. Parsons (1836–1911) was an American politician who served as Mayor of Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Albert E. Martel was an American government official who served as a Boston police officer, member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, and deputy collector for the United States Customs Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George H. Lyman</span> American lawyer

George Hinckley Lyman was an American political figure who served as chairman of the Massachusetts Republican state committee and collector of customs for the port of Boston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William H. Jordan</span>

William H. Jordan was an American herring merchant from Gloucester, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry S. Dewey</span> American politician

Henry Sweetser Dewey (1856–1932) was an American jurist and politician who served as a judge of the Boston Municipal Court and Judge Advocate General of Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1910 Massachusetts gubernatorial election</span>

The 1910 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1910. Incumbent Republican governor Eben S. Draper was defeated for re-election to a third term by former Republican Eugene Foss, running as a Democrat.

The 2020 Massachusetts general election was held on November 3, 2020, throughout Massachusetts. Primary elections were held on September 1, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Lyman Faxon</span> American architect

John Lyman Faxon (1851–1918) was an American architect practicing in Boston, Massachusetts, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Three of his buildings, the First Baptist Church of Newton (1888), the First Congregational Church of Detroit (1889–91) and the former East Boston High School (1898–1901), have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moses Adams</span> Early American shipbuilder

Moses Adams, was an Essex County shipbuilder. He had his own shipyard and built eighty-five schooners and pilot boats. Adams died in Essex, Massachusetts in 1894.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles W. Bartlett (lawyer)</span> American lawyer

Charles W. Bartlett was an American lawyer and politician who was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Massachusetts in 1905 and represented Warry Charles and Charles R. Eastman during their murder trials.

William A. Simmons was an American political figure who served as Collector of Customs for the Port of Boston and chairman of the Boston water board.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Gloucester Surprised". The Boston Daily Globe. December 11, 1911.
  2. ↑ "Thrashed the Landlord". The Norfolk Virginian. September 11, 1896. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Gave Virginian The Lie". The Boston Daily Globe. September 8, 1896.
  4. ↑ Inaugural Address of the Mayor with the Annual Reports of the City of Gloucester. 1904. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  5. ↑ Low, A. Maurice (December 19, 1911). "Says Gloucester Forged". The Boston Daily Globe.
  6. ↑ W.E.B. (February 13, 1912). "Osborne for Gloucester". The Boston Evening Transcript. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  7. 1 2 Arrington, Benjamin F. (1922). Municipal History of Essex County in Massachusetts. Lewis historical publishing Company. p.  577 . Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Class of 1886". The Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. November 1918.
Preceded by Collector of Customs for the Port of Gloucester
1912–1913		Succeeded by
Position eliminated
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.