Elmer Hartpence Wene (May 1, 1892 – January 25, 1957) was an American Democratic Party politician who represented

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

's 2nd congressional district in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from 1937 to 1939 and again from 1941 to 1945. He twice ran unsuccessfully for the New Jersey governorship.

Biography

He was born on a farm near

Pittstown, New Jersey Pittstown is an unincorporated community located at the intersection of the boundaries of Alexandria, Franklin and Union townships in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. The area is named after William Pitt. The area is served as United States Pos ...

, on May 1, 1892, to Emanuel S. Wene and Mary J. Kiley. He attended the public schools and

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Vineland, New Jersey Vineland is a City (New Jersey), city and the most populous municipality in Cumberland County, New Jersey, Cumberland County, within the U.S. state of New Jersey. Bridgeton, New Jersey, Bridgeton and Vineland are the two principal cities of the ...

. Wene served on the New Jersey State board of agriculture 1925-1934 and was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the

Seventy-fifth Congress The 75th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 1 ...

(January 3, 1937 – January 3, 1939). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1938 to the

Seventy-sixth Congress The 76th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 193 ...

. After leaving Congress, he was a member of the

Board of Chosen Freeholders In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners (until 2020 named the Board of Chosen Freeholders) is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the ...

Cumberland County, New Jersey Cumberland County is a coastal county located on the Delaware Bay in the Southern Shore Region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 census, the county was the state's 16th-most-populous county,United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

the same year. Wene resumed agricultural pursuits and

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

raising. He was also president and owner of two radio stations in New Jersey. In 1945, he served as an adviser to the

Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments The department includes several organiz ...

. He was elected to the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure ...

in 1946 and a delegate to the New Jersey State constitutional convention in 1947 that drafted the current

New Jersey State Constitution The Constitution of the State of New Jersey is the basic governing document of the State of New Jersey. In addition to three British Royal Charters issued for East Jersey, West Jersey and united New Jersey while they were still colonies, the sta ...

. On June 26, 1948, he was given a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the President of the United States, president of a Officer of the United States, federal official when the United States Senate, U.S. Senate is in Recess (motion), recess. Under the ...

by President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

as Undersecretary of Agriculture. He was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

in 1949 and an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1950 to the

Eighty-second Congress The 82nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 1 ...

as well. Wene was unsuccessful for the gubernatorial nomination in 1953. He died of cancer at the

University of Pennsylvania Hospital The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) is the flagship hospital of Penn Medicine and is located in the University City section of West Philadelphia. History The hospital was founded at its current location in 1874 by the Univers ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, on January 25, 1957. He had never married or had children. He was buried in Locust Grove Cemetery,

Quakertown, New Jersey Quakertown is an unincorporated community located within Franklin Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. It was once known as Fairview. The area was settled by Quakers from Burlington County, who organized a meeting house here in 1733. The ...

External links

Elmer H. Wene
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 Politics of the United States, American political figures and List of United States political families, political families, along with other informa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wene, Elmer H. 1892 births 1957 deaths Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey Democratic Party New Jersey state senators County commissioners in New Jersey People from Vineland, New Jersey Politicians from Hunterdon County, New Jersey Rutgers University alumni Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania 20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives