Preceded by Charles W. Lippitt Spouse(s) Nancy A. Viall Party Republican Party Political party Republican Education Brown University | Parents Elisha Dyer Preceded by Augustus S. Miller Name Elisha Jr. Succeeded by William Gregory | |
 | ||
Lieutenant Aram J. Pothier
William Gregory Born November 29, 1839
Providence, Rhode Island ( 1839-11-29 ) Role Former Governor of Rhode Island Died November 29, 1906, Providence, Rhode Island, United States Previous office Governor of Rhode Island (1897–1900) | ||
Resting place Swan Point Cemetery | ||
Elisha Dyer Jr. (November 29, 1839 – November 29, 1906) was a Rhode Island politician who was 45th Governor of Rhode Island from 1897 to 1900. He was the son of Elisha Dyer, Governor of Rhode Island from 1857 to 1859.
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Biography
Dyer was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Brown University and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Giessen. While attending Brown, he joined the Zeta Psi Fraternity.
On the outbreak of the Civil War, Elisha Dyer Jr. enlisted as the 4th sergeant of the 1st Light Artillery Battery of Rhode Island on April 15, 1861. Sergeant Dyer was sent with the battery to Easton, Pennsylvania to train other volunteer artillery units. Dyer was discharged shortly after his arrival due to accidental injuries he suffered after an explosion of a limber chest, on April 21, 1861. Dyer spent the remainder of the war as the Lieutenant Colonel in command of the Providence Train of Artillery of the Rhode Island Militia and also served as military aide-de-camp to Governor James Y. Smith from 1863 to 1866.
After the war, he was a longtime member of the Rhode Island Militia, ultimately rising to the rank of brigadier general.
Dyer was elected to the Rhode Island Senate in 1877 and to the Rhode Island House of Representatives in 1882. He was Adjutant General of Rhode Island, with the rank of brigadier general, from 1882 to 1895.
In 1896, he was elected Governor of Rhode Island as a Republican. He was re-elected twice and served from 1897 to 1900.
After serving as governor, he was again elected to the state Senate in 1904, and then was elected Mayor of Providence in 1905. He died in Providence, while serving in office as Mayor, on his 67th birthday in 1906. He is interred in Swan Point Cemetery in Providence.
Memberships
Upon his father's death, in 1890, he succeeded to First Class membership in the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. Dyer was admitted as an hereditary member of the Rhode Island Society of the Cincinnati in 1898 by right of his descent from Captain William Jones, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. He was a charter member of the Rhode Island Society of Colonial Wars in 1897. He joined the Rhode Island Society of the Sons of the American Revolution in 1899 and served as its president from 1903 to 1904.