Chester Hardy Aldrich

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chester Hardy Aldrich
Chester Aldrich cph.3b35048.jpg
16th Governor of Nebraska
In office
January 5, 1911 – January 9, 1913
LieutenantMelville R. Hopewell (1911)
Vacant (1911–1913)
Preceded byAshton C. Shallenberger
Succeeded byJohn H. Morehead
Member of the Nebraska State Senate
In office
1907
Associate Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court
In office
1918–1924
Personal details
Born(1863-11-10)November 10, 1863
Pierpont, Ohio, U.S.
DiedMarch 10, 1924(1924-03-10) (aged 60)
Superior, Nebraska, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Sylvia Estelle Stroman
Alma materOhio State University

Chester Hardy Aldrich (November 10, 1863 – March 10, 1924) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 16th governor of Nebraska and as a justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court.

Personal life[]

Aldrich was born in Pierpont in Ashtabula County, Ohio. He married Sylvia Estelle Stroman on June 4, 1889,[1] and they had five children. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, a Freemason and a Knight Templar. He died in office on March 10, 1924.

Education[]

After he graduated from the prep school at Hillsdale College in Michigan, Aldrich entered the Ohio State University as a freshman in 1884. While at Ohio State he became a champion orator, served as an editor of The Lantern, and in 1886 became the captain of an abortive first attempt at forming an Ohio State University football team.[2] He graduated from Ohio State in 1888 with an A.B.[3]

In a commencement address, delivered at his university soon after his election as governor of Nebraska, he offered his views on the topic of "Progressive Citizenship." [4]

Political life[]

Aldrich settled in Ulysses, Nebraska, where he worked as a high school principal and livestock rancher while he studied law.[5] He passed the Nebraska Bar in 1890 and began practicing law in David City. He served as mayor of David City, and was elected to the Nebraska State Senate in 1906. As a state senator he wrote the Railway Commission Law and the Aldrich Freight Rate Law, which attacked the power of the Nebraska railroad trusts. When the laws were brought to Federal Court, Aldrich personally served as counsel for the state and the laws were sustained.[6]

In 1910, with support from Populist Democrat William Jennings Bryan, and over opposition of the trusts, Aldrich was elected governor of Nebraska.[7] During his tenure as governor, a co-operative association act was sanctioned; a board of control for state institutions was established; a sanitary health bill was authorized; and a road program was initiated.[8] He held the position until 1913.

Aldrich was elected as a justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court in 1918, and remained in that position until his death.

References[]

  1. ^ "Chester Hardy Aldrich". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  2. ^ Roman, Robert J. (2017). Ohio State Football: The Forgotten Dawn. University of Akron Press. ISBN 978-1629220666.
  3. ^ "Chester Hardy Aldrich". Compendium of History, Reminiscence and Biography. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  4. ^ "Progressive Citizenship". OSU Alumni Magazine, July 1911. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  5. ^ Chester Hardy Aldrich. The Encyclopedia of Nebraska. January 1999. ISBN 9780403098347. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  6. ^ "Hon. Chester H. Aldrich: Governor of Nebraska". University of Iowa Digital Library. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  7. ^ "Nebraska State Historical Society: The Nebraska Democratic Campaign of 1910" (PDF). Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  8. ^ "Chester Hardy Aldrich". National Governors Association. Retrieved September 18, 2012.

External links[]


Party political offices
Preceded by
George L. Sheldon 		Republican nominee for Governor of Nebraska
1910, 1912 		Succeeded by
Robert B. Howell
Political offices
Preceded by
Ashton C. Shallenberger 		Governor of Nebraska
1911–1913 		Succeeded by
John H. Morehead
Retrieved from ""