William Preston Snyder
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William Preston Snyder (October 7, 1851 – June 18, 1920) was an American physician and politician who served as
President Pro Tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate The President pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate (also known more commonly as the "President pro-tem") is a constitutionally-created office in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The incumbent holder of the office is Republican Kim Ward. Overv ...
from 1899–1902 and
Pennsylvania Auditor General The Pennsylvania auditor general is the chief fiscal officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It became an elected office in 1850. The current auditor general of Pennsylvania is Republican Timothy DeFoor. History The office of the audito ...
from 1904–1907. He was a member of the Republican Party from
Chester County Chester County may refer to: * Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States ** Chester County Council, boy scout council in Pennsylvania. * Chester County, South Carolina, United States * Chester County, Tennessee, United States * Cheshire ...
. In 1908, Snyder was convicted in a graft scandal involving the furnishing of the
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and received a two-year prison sentence for conspiracy to defraud the state.


Early life and education

Snyder was born in East Vincent Township,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, to Maria (née Shenkel) and George Snyder. His father was a farmer and brick manufacturer. Snyder attended
Millersville State Normal School Millersville University of Pennsylvania (commonly known as Millersville University, The Ville, or MU) is a public university in Millersville, Pennsylvania. It is one of the ten schools that comprise the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Educa ...
and
Ursinus College Ursinus College is a private liberal arts college in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1869 and occupies a campus. Ursinus College's forerunner was the Freeland Seminary founded in 1848. Its $127 million endowment supports about 1, ...
, taught school in 1868 and 1869, and received his MD from the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
in 1873. He practiced medicine from 1873 to 1886 and worked as Spring City postmaster from 1883 to 1885. He became a medical examiner for the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its p ...
and
prothonotary A prothonotary is the "principal clerk of a court," from Late Latin, L.L. ''prothonotarius'' (Wiktionary:circa, c. 400), from Greek ''protonotarios'' "first scribe," originally the chief of the college of recorders of the court of the Byzantine E ...
of Chester County in 1886.


Political career

In fall of 1890, Snyder was elected to the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...
and served from 1891 to 1892, when he successfully ran to represent the 19th district in the
Pennsylvania Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mi ...
, which he did from 1893 to 1904. He served as Senate president pro tempore from 1899 to 1902. He chaired the Senate Appropriations and Health and Sanitation committees and served on committees for Congressional Apportionment, Corporations, Education, Finance, Insurance, Judiciary Special, New Counties and New Seats, Mines and Mining, Public Roads and Highways, Railroads and Street Passenger Railways. Snyder was elected
Pennsylvania Auditor General The Pennsylvania auditor general is the chief fiscal officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It became an elected office in 1850. The current auditor general of Pennsylvania is Republican Timothy DeFoor. History The office of the audito ...
in November 1903, winning by a margin of 237,602 votes. He held the office from 1904 through 1907. Scandal derailed his career when he, along with four other officials, faced charges of conspiracy to defraud the state in connection with the construction and furnishing of the state capitol. Although he maintained his innocence until his death, Snyder was convicted in December 1908, sentenced to two years in prison at the
Eastern State Penitentiary The Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP) is a former American prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located in the Fairmount, Philadelphia, Fairmount section of the city, and was operational from 1829 until 1971. The penitentiary refined the r ...
, and ordered to pay a $500 fine. The state supreme court upheld the conviction and sentence on appeal in March 1910. Snyder served as an elected delegate to the Pennsylvania Republican Conventions of 1878 and 1882 and chaired the Chester County Republican Committee in 1890, resigning when nominated for Senate. He was a
Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
and
Knight Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...
.


Personal life

Snyder married schoolteacher Elisabeth Friday (or Elizabeth Fridy) on September 5, 1876. The couple had one son, Thomas B. He died on June 18, 1920, more than a year after suffering a paralytic stroke, in
Kimberton, Pennsylvania Kimberton is an unincorporated community and census-designated place that is located in East Pikeland Township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The Zip Code is 19442. History Originally settled during the late 18th it remained u ...
. He was interred at the East Village Reformed Cemetery in
Spring City, Pennsylvania Spring City is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,494 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Spring City is a member of the Spring-Ford Area School District. It is situ ...
.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Snyder, William Preston 1851 births 1920 deaths Politicians from Chester County, Pennsylvania 19th-century American physicians American prisoners and detainees Ursinus College alumni Millersville University of Pennsylvania alumni Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni Physicians from Pennsylvania Pennsylvania postmasters Pennsylvania auditors general Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators American Freemasons Pennsylvania politicians convicted of corruption Pennsylvania politicians convicted of crimes Prisoners and detainees of Pennsylvania 19th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly 20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly