Lester Harrison Clee (July 1, 1888 – March 15, 1962) was an American clergyman and politician who served in both houses of the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and th ...

and was the Republican nominee for

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

in 1937.

Biography

Clee was born in 1888 in

Thompsonville, Connecticut Thompsonville is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Enfield in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population of the CDP was 8,577 at the 2010 census. History Thompsonville was established in the 19th century as a carpet ...

, to Frederick and Margaret (Kelley) Clee.Schwarz, J.S
''Religious Leaders of America''
(1941). At a young age he was forced by his father's illness to go to

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 census, making it the second- most populous city in New England after ...

, to work in a steel mill. He started a boys' club among his fellow mill workers and in 1908 began working for the

Young Men's Christian Association YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 101,636, making ...

. Clee married Katherine Steele on August 9, 1911. West End Presbyterian jeh

Clee educated himself for the ministry while serving as assistant to the pastor of West End Presbyterian Church in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

from 1918 to 1921. His first pastorate was at the Rutherford Baptist Church in Bergen County, New Jersey, from 1921 to 1926, after which time he became pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

. He served as pastor at the Newark church for nearly 25 years before retiring in 1950. Clee was elected to the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

in 1934 on the Essex County Clean Government ticket. The following year he briefly served as Speaker of the Assembly before being elected to the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as 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, ...

. In 1937 he became the Republican nominee for

against the

Democratic 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 (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

candidate A. Harry Moore. Clee carried 15 of the state's 21 counties, but Moore won the election thanks to an overwhelming plurality of more than 45,000 votes in his home county of Hudson. The Hudson returns were widely suspected to be fraudulent, the result of political boss

Frank Hague Frank Hague (January 17, 1876 – January 1, 1956) was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey from 1917 to 1947, Democratic National Committeeman from New Jersey from 1922 until 1949, and Vice-C ...

's tight control on the county's electoral process.''Boss''
''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

'', May 20, 1940. Accessed June 14, 2008. Clee later served as chairman of the State Mediation Board under Governor Alfred E. Driscoll, and was also president of the State Civil Service Commission and a member of the State Parole Board. He moved to Chester Borough in 1950 and served as Borough Councilman and later as Mayor of Chester Borough, New Jersey. He moved to

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

in 1954. His wife died in January 1954, and the following year he married Madeleine Dreier. Clee successfully petitioned for continuance of Bloomfield College and Seminary (now

Bloomfield College Bloomfield College is a private college in Bloomfield, New Jersey. It is chartered by the State of New Jersey and accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The college is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) through ...

) before the General Assembly of the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...

, with which it is affiliated. He served as a trustee and acting president of

from 1959 to 1960. A dormitory, Clee Hall, was erected in his honor in 1961. Clee died in 1962 in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

, at the age of 73.

References

External links

Biographical information for Lester H. Clee
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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clee, Lester H. 1888 births 1962 deaths 20th-century American legislators 20th-century American Presbyterian ministers 20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States 20th-century mayors of places in New Jersey Clergy from Newark, New Jersey Mayors of places in New Jersey People from Chester Borough, New Jersey Politicians from Newark, New Jersey Politicians from Princeton, New Jersey Presbyterian Church (USA) teaching elders Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Republican Party New Jersey state senators Speakers of the New Jersey General Assembly