Fenimore Chatterton (July 21, 1860May 9, 1958) was an American businessman,

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

, and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...

. He was the sixth Governor of

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to t ...

from April 28, 1903 until January 2, 1905.

Biography

Chatterton was born in

Oswego County, New York Oswego County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 117,525. The county seat is Oswego. The county name is from a Mohawk-language word meaning "the pouring out place", referring to the point a ...

, but raised in Washington, D.C. He attended the

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , presi ...

, then Millersville State

Normal School A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...

. In 1878, he moved to

Sheridan Sheridan may refer to: People Surname *Sheridan (surname) *Philip Sheridan (1831–1888), U.S. Army general after whom the Sheridan tank is named *Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816), Irish playwright (''The Rivals''), poet and politician ...

, in

Wyoming Territory The Territory of Wyoming was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 25, 1868, until July 10, 1890, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Wyoming. Cheyenne was the territorial capital. The bou ...

, and set up as a businessman. He received a law degree from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1892. Chatterton married Stella Wyland Chatterton.

Career

In 1888, he began his political career by successfully running for treasurer and

probate judge A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as Orphans' Courts o ...

of Carbon County. He served time in two classes of the

Wyoming State Legislature The Wyoming State Legislature is the legislative branch of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is a bicameral state legislature, consisting of a 60-member Wyoming House of Representatives, and a 30-member Wyoming Senate. The legislature meets at the ...

from 1890 until 1893. He was the Wyoming Republican state chair from 1893 to 1894. In 1898, he was elected Secretary of State, but his tenure was interrupted by the death of Governor DeForest Richards in 1903, thrusting him into the position of governor. Chatterdon served as governor from April 28, 1903 to January 2, 1905. It was during Chatterton's time as Governor that the hanging of

Tom Horn Thomas Horn Jr., (November 21, 1860 – November 20, 1903) was an American scout, cowboy, soldier, range detective, and Pinkerton agent in the 19th-century and early 20th-century American Old West. Believed to have committed 17 killings as a ...

occurred; it has been speculated that Chatterton's failure to win re-election as governor in 1905 was the result of his refusal to commute Horn's

death sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

. Chatterdon was not nominated by his party to fill the office of governor for the 1904 election, but continued to serve as Secretary of State until his term expired in 1907. After his term as Secretary of State expired, Chatterton did not serve in public office again. He set up a private law practice, from which he retired in 1932.

Death and legacy

Chatterton died on May 9, 1958, and is interred at Lakeview Cemetery in

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, Wyoming, Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne ...

. He was an Episcopalian and a member of the Knights Templar

Masonic Order Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. Chatterton has been credited as the first to announce the ''

Wyoming (song) "Wyoming" is the state song of Wyoming. Judge Charles Edwin Winter (1870–1948) wrote the words during the summer of 1903, and Earle R. Clemens (1878–1943) wrote music to it soon thereafter. They copyrighted the song in 1913 and the Wyomin ...

'' as the official state song, during the Industrial Convention in 1903. The song was later endorsed as the official song by the state press association, state industrial convention and the state university.

References

External links

*

from the

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...

State biography
from the Wyoming State Archives

from the

Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

North Platte River
from ''Wyoming Tales and Trails'' *

from the Wyoming Secretary of State website

Wyoming Roundup {{DEFAULTSORT:Chatterton, Fenimore 1860 births 1958 deaths People from Oswego County, New York Republican Party Wyoming state senators Secretaries of State of Wyoming Republican Party governors of Wyoming University of Michigan Law School alumni People from Carbon County, Wyoming George Washington University alumni People from Sheridan, Wyoming