Daniel Hartman Hastings (February 26, 1849January 9, 1903) was the 21st governor of Pennsylvania, serving from 1895 to 1899.

Biography

Daniel H. Hastings was born in Salona,

Clinton County, Pennsylvania Clinton County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,450. Its county seat is Lock Haven. The county was created on June 21, 1839, from parts of Centre and Lycoming Counties. Its name is ...

on February 26, 1849. He was educated locally, and worked on his father's farm. He tried several times to run away to join the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

for the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, following the example of his three older brothers, but his father stopped him each time.

Early career

At age 14, Hastings became a school teacher in

, a job he held for four years. Named principal of Bellefonte High School at age 18, Hastings carried out the responsibilities of this position while furthering his own education, attending

Bellefonte Academy Bellefonte Academy was a historic school building located at Bellefonte, Centre County, Pennsylvania. The original building was built in 1805, as a two-story, rectangular limestone building. It was enlarged between 1839 and 1845, with the additi ...

and studying law. Hastings was admitted to the bar in 1875 and established a successful practice. He also became involved in several businesses, including coal mines and banking. In addition, he was editor of the ''Bellefonte Republican'' newspaper. Involved in local government and civic institutions, Hastings served on the Bellefonte school board, as a town Burgess, a trustee of Bellefonte's

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

, and a trustee of

Pennsylvania State College The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

and Dickinson College. Daniel Hastings was initiated into Bellefonte Lodge # 268 of Free and Accepted Masons in September 1874. He became their Worshipful Master of in 1878. He was a member of the Bellefonte Chapter # 241 of Royal Arch masons. He became the Eminent Commander of Constans Commandery #33 Knights Templar of Bellefonte in 1886.

Start of political career

Active in politics as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, in 1878 he managed the successful Congressional campaign of his law partner, Seth Hartman Yocum, a Republican running as a Greenbacker. In

1882 Events January–March * January 2 ** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates. ** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in t ...

he was active in the unsuccessful campaign of

James A. Beaver James Addams Beaver (October 21, 1837 – January 31, 1914) was an American attorney, recruiter and field commander of Pennsylvania Infantry who was wounded four times during the American Civil War, and politician who served as the 20th governo ...

for governor. In

1886 Events January–March * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5– 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson's novella ''Strange ...

, he was a delegate to the state Republican convention, and gave the nominating speech for Beaver, who ran successfully for governor. In 1887 he was chairman of the state Republican convention. Hastings was a delegate to the

1888 Republican National Convention The 1888 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held at the Auditorium Building in Chicago, Illinois, on June 19–25, 1888. It resulted in the nomination of former Senator Benjamin Harrison of Indiana for presid ...

, and gave the nominating speech for

John Sherman John Sherman (May 10, 1823October 22, 1900) was an American politician from Ohio throughout the Civil War and into the late nineteenth century. A member of the Republican Party, he served in both houses of the U.S. Congress. He also served as ...

. He also gave a seconding speech for

Levi P. Morton Levi Parsons Morton (May 16, 1824 – May 16, 1920) was the 22nd vice president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He also served as United States ambassador to France, as a U.S. representative from New York, and as the 31st Governor of Ne ...

after Morton was nominated for

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

Military career

In July 1877 Hastings joined the Pennsylvania State Militia as paymaster of the 5th Regiment with the rank of Captain. Within a year he had been appointed Lieutenant Colonel and second-in-command of his regiment, and soon afterwards he was appointed assistant adjutant of the Pennsylvania Militia's 2nd Brigade. By 1880 he had been promoted to commander of the 5th Regiment with 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 o ...

. In 1887, governor and fellow Bellefonte resident

named Hastings as Adjutant General of the state Militia with the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

. In his role as adjutant general, Hastings led relief efforts following the 1889

Johnstown Flood The Johnstown Flood (locally, the Great Flood of 1889) occurred on Friday, May 31, 1889, after the catastrophic failure of the South Fork Dam, located on the south fork of the Little Conemaugh River, upstream of the town of Johnstown, Pennsylv ...

, for which he gained statewide attention and praise.

Governor of Pennsylvania

Hastings was a candidate for governor in 1890, but

Matthew S. Quay Matthew Stanley "Matt" Quay (September 30, 1833May 28, 1904) was an American politician of the Republican Party who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1887 until 1899 and from 1901 until his death in 1904. Quay's control o ...

, leader of the state Republican Party, succeeded in obtaining the nomination for George W. Delamater, defeating Hastings by only 11 votes. As a wealthy banker affiliated with Standard Oil, Delamater proved unpopular with many Republicans, who gave him lukewarm support or supported the Democratic nominee, former governor Robert E. Pattison. Pattison had been elected in

, and served from 1883 to 1887. Pattison was barred by law to an additional consecutive term and so could not run for reelection. James Beaver defeated Chauncey Forward Black in the

, and served from 1887 to 1891. Pattison running again then defeated Delamater in 1890, and served from 1891 to 1895. Hastings sought the

gubernatorial again in

1894 Events January–March * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United S ...

. He obtained it, and defeated the Democratic nominee, William M. Singerly. Hastings served one term, 1895 to 1899. As governor, in

1895 Events January–March * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. * January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...

Hastings appointed the first seven judges to the newly created Pennsylvania Superior Court, including former governor Beaver. In addition, his administration included the creation of the Pennsylvania State Game Commission, State Forestry Commission, and Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. He also signed into a law a measure to replace state property taxes with a tax on corporate profits. Also in 1895, Hastings enacted the

Pennsylvania Capitol Police The Pennsylvania State Capitol Police is a section of the Pennsylvania Department of General Services providing law enforcement, security and parking enforcement services to the State Capitol Complex in Harrisburg, and at state government offi ...

, the first Pennsylvania police agency under Commonwealth jurisdiction and the second oldest state police organization in the United States, after the Texas Rangers. In

1897 Events January–March * January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City. * January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a puni ...

, the State Capitol Building in Harrisburg was destroyed in a fire, and the Hastings administration started efforts to erect a replacement, which was completed in 1906. Hastings directed the state's response during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

, working with the state legislature to raise troops, supplies and equipment and transport them to mobilization sites, and then taking steps to return soldiers to Pennsylvania and demobilize them at the end of the war.

Death and burial

Following his term, Hastings returned to his law practice and business interests. He died from pneumonia in Bellefonte on January 9, 1903, and was buried at Union Cemetery in Bellefonte.

Legacy

Hastings Hall on the University Park campus of Penn State is named for him. In 1889 Hastings founded the town of Hastings, Pennsylvania as part of his coal mining interests, and it was named for him. He also founded the mining towns of Spangler and Bakerton. In 1895 Hastings received an honorary

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

from Dickinson College.

References

External links

*
Daniel H. Hastings

National Governors Association
'
Daniel Hartman Hastings
at
Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hastings, Daniel 1849 births 1903 deaths Republican Party governors of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania lawyers American militia officers American militia generals People from Bellefonte, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania State University people Burials in Pennsylvania Members of the Methodist Episcopal Church American school principals 19th-century Methodists