Henry Keyes
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Henry Keyes (January 3, 1810 – September 24, 1870) was a politician and railroad executive from
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
. He was a member of the
Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives a ...
and
Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members elected from multi-member districts. Each senator repre ...
. He was also the Democratic nominee for governor three times (1856, 1857, 1858). In addition, Keyes served as president of the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...
.


Early life

Keyes was born in
Vershire, Vermont Vershire is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States, created under Vermont Charter of August 3, 1781. The population was 672 at the 2020 census. The name Vershire is a portmanteau of Vermont and New Hampshire. History The town and a ...
on January 3, 1810, the son of Thomas and Margaretta (McArthur) Keyes. He was raised and educated in Vershire, and moved to Newbury at age 15 to work at the Reed & Gould store. In 1831, he left Reed & Gould to go into business with his brother Freeman. The brothers operated the F. and H. Keyes Store, which became the largest general store in the
Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...
Valley.


Business and farming career

In addition to the store, Keyes was active in several other business ventures. In 1843, he was an original incorporator of the
Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad Connecticut ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capital is Hartford, and ...
. Keyes served as a director and succeeded
Erastus Fairbanks Erastus Fairbanks (October 28, 1792 – November 20, 1864) was an American manufacturer, a Whig politician, a founder of the Republican Party, and the 21st and 26th governor of Vermont. An industrialist and businessman, he was a co-founder o ...
as president in 1854. Under Keyes's leadership, the railway completed a connection to the
Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; ) was a Rail transport, railway system that operated in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the List of states and territories of the United States, American sta ...
in 1870. Keyes's other business interests included ownership stakes in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
's United States Hotel as well as mines, steamboats and stagecoaches. Keyes was also a large shareholder in the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...
. He was appointed the company's president in February 1869. He also owned and operated a farm that included land on both sides of the Connecticut River in Newbury and in
Haverhill, New Hampshire Haverhill is a town and the seat of Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,585 at the 2020 census. Haverhill includes the villages of Woodsville, Pike, and North Haverhill, the historic town center at Haverhill Corn ...
, where he raised
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...
cattle and
Merino The Merino is a list of sheep breeds, breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monop ...
sheep. Keyes also served as president of the Vermont State Agricultural Society. From 1853 to 1855, Keyes served as a trustee of
Norwich University Norwich University is a private university in Northfield, Vermont, United States. The university was founded in 1819 as the "American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy". It is the oldest of six senior military college, senior militar ...
.


Political career

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 ...
, Keys represented Orange County in the
Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members elected from multi-member districts. Each senator repre ...
from 1847 to 1849. From 1855 to 1856, Keyes was Newbury's member of the
Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives a ...
. In 1856, Keyes was the Democratic nominee for
governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
and lost to Republican nominee
Ryland Fletcher Ryland Fletcher (February 18, 1799 – December 19, 1885) was an American farmer, politician, the 20th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1854 to 1856, and then was the 24th governor of Vermont from October 10, 1856, to October 10, 1858. Ear ...
. He ran again in 1857 and lost again to Fletcher, and was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee in 1858, losing to Hiland Hall. Keyes was the chairman of the Vermont delegation to the
1860 Democratic National Convention The 1860 Democratic National Conventions were a series of presidential nominating conventions held to nominate the Democratic Party's candidates for president and vice president in the 1860 election. The first convention, held from April 23 ...
. The delegates met in
Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...
in April and were unable to agree on a presidential nominee. The convention reconvened in
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
in June and nominated
Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (né Douglass; April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. As a United States Senate, U.S. senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party (United States) ...
.


Death

In mid-September 1870, Keyes became ill. He died in Newbury on September 24. Keyes was buried at Oxbow Cemetery in Newbury.


Family

In May 1838, Keyes married Sarah A. Pierce of Stanstead, Quebec. They had no children and she died in 1853. In May 1856, Keyes married Emma F. Pierce, a sister of his first wife. They were the parents of five children—Henry, Martha, Ezra, George, and Charles. Keyes's son, Henry W. Keyes (1863–1938), became
Governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along w ...
in 1917. In 1918, he was elected to the U.S. senator in 1919.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keyes, Henry 1810 births 1870 deaths People from Vershire, Vermont People from Newbury, Vermont Democratic Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives Democratic Party Vermont state senators Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway presidents 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly