Henry Wilder Keyes (; May 23, 1863June 19, 1938) was an American Republican politician from

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 ...

. He served as the 56th

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 ...

from 1917 to 1919 and as a United States Senator.

Early life

Keyes was born in Newbury, Vermont, on May 23, 1863. He was raised in New Hampshire, and his father was a prominent farmer, merchant, and railroad investor. Keyes graduated from

Adams Academy The Adams Academy was a school for boys in Quincy, Massachusetts founded by President John Adams, who outlined his wishes for a school to be built on the site of John Hancock's birthplace in an 1822 deed of trust. Opened in 1872, the Academy op ...

, and then attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, from which he graduated in 1887. He was a farmer and cattle breeder, and initiated raising of the Holstein-Friesian breed in the United States. He was also a founder of the Woodsville National Bank, and served as its president.

Politics

Keyes served in the

New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral State legislature (United States), legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members com ...

from 1891 to 1895. He served in the

New Hampshire State Senate The New Hampshire State Senate is the upper house of the New Hampshire General Court, alongside the lower New Hampshire House of Representatives. The Senate has been meeting since 1784. The Senate consists of 24 members representing Senate distric ...

from 1903 to 1905. He was treasurer of the State license commission from 1903 to 1915, and chairman of the State excise commission from 1915 to 1917. from 1915 to 1917 he served again in the state House of Representatives. In 1916 he was elected

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 ...

, and he served one term, 1917 to 1919. Keyes ran successfully for the

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 ...

in 1918. He was reelected in 1924 and 1930 and served from March 4, 1919, to January 3, 1937. He did not seek another term in the 1936 election. As a senator, he was noted for not speaking on the floor, even nodding or shaking his head to vote "aye" or "nay." The one exception was his motion to adjourn during a long winded speech by Senate Finance Committee Chairman

Pat Harrison Byron Patton "Pat" Harrison (August 29, 1881June 22, 1941) was a Mississippi politician who served as a Democrat in the United States House of Representatives from 1911 to 1919 and in the United States Senate from 1919 until his death. Early l ...

. During his Senate career, Keyes served as chairman of: the Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Sixty-sixth Congress); Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses (Sixty-eighth and Sixty-ninth Congresses); and Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds (Seventieth through Seventy-second Congresses).

Personal

In 1904, Keyes married Frances Parkinson Wheeler, who as Frances Parkinson Keyes became a prolific author. He was forty, she was eighteen. They had three sons together—Henry Wilder Keyes, Jr., John Parkinson Keyes, and Francis Keyes. Keyes died on June 19, 1938, in

North Haverhill, New Hampshire North Haverhill is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Haverhill, New Hampshire, United States. It is one of several villages in the town of Haverhill. As of the 2020 census, North Haverhill had a population of 843. ...

, and is buried at the Oxbow Cemetery in Newbury, Vermont. He was the recipient of an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

of Master of Arts from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

and was also as honorary Bachelor of Science and

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

of the

New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts (NHC) was founded and incorporated in 1866, as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College. In 1893, NHC moved to Durham, where it became the University of New ...

(now the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant coll ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keyes, Henry 1863 births 1938 deaths Republican Party governors of New Hampshire Republican Party members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Republican Party New Hampshire state senators People from Haverhill, New Hampshire Harvard University alumni Dartmouth College alumni People from Newbury, Vermont Republican Party United States senators from New Hampshire Adams Academy alumni 20th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the New Hampshire General Court 20th-century members of the New Hampshire General Court