Redfield Proctor Jr. (April 13, 1879 – February 5, 1957) was an American business executive and politician who served as the

59th The 59th Quartermaster Company is a bulk petroleum company designed to provide semi-portable storage for of fuel and to provide distribution of fuel to military units within a specified geographic area while deployed overseas. Its secondary missi ...

governor of Vermont The governor of Vermont is the head of government of Vermont. The officeholder is elected in even-numbered years by direct voting for a term of 2 years. Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold gubernatorial elections every ...

from 1923 to 1925.

Life and career

The son of Emily Jane (née Dutton) and

Redfield Proctor Redfield Proctor (June 1, 1831March 4, 1908) was a U.S. politician of the Republican Party. He served as the 37th governor of Vermont from 1878 to 1880, as Secretary of War from 1889 to 1891, and as a United States Senator for Vermont from 18 ...

, a

United States Senator from Vermont United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

, Proctor Jr. was born in

Proctor, Vermont Proctor is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,763 at the 2020 census. Proctor is home to the Vermont Marble Museum and Wilson Castle. History In the early 19th century, small high-quality marble deposits ...

, on April 13, 1879. He received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, ...

from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

in 1902 and was employed as an executive at the Vermont Marble Company, his family's business. He rose to the position of vice president of the company and served as president of the Proctor Trust Company. He married Mary Sherwood Hedrick and they had three children. Proctor was also prominent in other businesses and trade groups, including serving as president of the Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad, and serving on the board of directors of Boston's Shawmut Bank, the

National Association of Manufacturers The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is an advocacy group headquartered in Washington, D.C., with additional offices across the United States. It is the nation's largest manufacturing industrial trade association, representing 14,000 ...

and the

United States Chamber of Commerce The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is the largest lobbying group in the United States, representing over three million businesses and organizations. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urging ...

. Proctor was involved in several civic activities, including serving as a member of the Vermont Sanitarium Board of Trustees, and as a Trustee of

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely fol ...

and the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

. He served as a selectman for the Town of Proctor before winning election to the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4 ...

, where he served from 1912 to 1917, and the

Vermont State Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-me ...

where he served from 1917 to 1919. Proctor was a delegate to the

1920 Republican National Convention The 1920 Republican National Convention nominated Ohio Senator Warren G. Harding for president and Massachusetts Governor Calvin Coolidge for vice president. The convention was held in Chicago, Illinois, at the Chicago Coliseum from June 8 to ...

. Proctor enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

for

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, was commissioned as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

, and received his initial training at

Fort Belvoir Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It was developed on the site of the former Belvoir plantation, seat of the prominent Fairfax family for whom Fa ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

. Proctor was stationed at

Washington Barracks Fort Lesley J. McNair is a United States Army post located on the tip of Greenleaf Point, the peninsula that lies at the confluence of the Potomac River and the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. To the peninsula's west is the Washington Chan ...

, where he served as supply officer for the 322nd Engineer Regiment. He remained in the

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

after the war and attained the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

as commander of the 322nd Engineers, which was a unit of the Reserve's 97th Division. In 1922 he was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a populatio ...

Governor and he served from 1923 to 1925. His term was marked by success at modernizing Vermont's state government, including authorizing the executive branch to employ a budget director and propose the state budget, and enabling the Governor to remove commissioners and department heads. After his term Proctor returned to Vermont Marble, serving as its president until retiring and becoming chairman of the board of directors in 1952, a position in which he served until his death in Proctor on February 5, 1957. He was buried at South Street Cemetery in Proctor.

Family

In addition to being the son of Redfield Proctor, Proctor Jr. was the brother of Governor

Fletcher D. Proctor Fletcher Dutton Proctor (November 7, 1860 – September 27, 1911) was an American businessman, a Republican politician, and the 51st governor of Vermont, who served from 1906 to 1908. Personal life Proctor was born in Cavendish, Vermont, o ...

, and the uncle of Governor

Mortimer R. Proctor Mortimer Robinson Proctor (May 30, 1889 – April 28, 1968), known as Mortimer R. Proctor, was an American politician from Vermont. He served as the 62nd lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1941 to 1945, and as the 66th governor of Vermont fro ...

.Congressional Quarterly
American leaders, 1789-1994, 1994, page 465

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Proctor, Redfield Jr. 1879 births 1957 deaths People from Proctor, Vermont MIT School of Engineering alumni United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army reservists Republican Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives Republican Party Vermont state senators Republican Party governors of Vermont Burials in Vermont