Governor Franklin S. Billings Role Attorney Name Walter Farnsworth | Religion Congregationalist Preceded by Franklin S. Billings Succeeded by Hollister Jackson | |
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Born November 17, 1870
Windsor, Vermont ( 1870-11-17 ) Profession Politician
Attorney
Horse breeder
Judge Died August 2, 1929, Rutland City, Vermont, United States | ||
Walter Kellogg Farnsworth (November 17, 1870 – August 2, 1929) was a Vermont attorney and politician who served as Lieutenant Governor.
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Life and career
Farnsworth was born in Windsor, Vermont on November 17, 1870. He attended high school in Chester and Woodstock, and then studied law. He attained admission to the bar and established a practice in Rutland. Farnsworth was also a horse breeder and an active member of the Rutland County Agricultural Society.
A Republican, Farnsworth began his involvement in politics and government by serving as a Justice of the Peace and as Assistant Secretary and Secretary of the Vermont Senate in the late 1890s and early 1900s.
Farnsworth was Judge of the Rutland City Court from 1907 to 1909. In 1908 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for Secretary of State.
In 1912 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for a seat in the United States House of Representatives. Farnsworth also became involved with the Progressive Party, but later returned to the Republican fold.
In 1918 he ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Vermont Secretary of State.
Farnsworth subsequently moved to Burlington. He was elected to the Vermont Senate in 1922 and served one term, also serving as Senate President.
In 1924 Farnsworth won election as Lieutenant Governor, and served one term, 1925 to 1927.
Farnsworth ran unsuccessfully for Governor in 1926, losing the Republican primary to John E. Weeks.
Farnsworth died in Rutland on August 2, 1929. He was interred at Ascutney Cemetery in Windsor, Vermont.
Personal
Farnsworth's nephew Arthur Austin Farnsworth (1908-1943) was the second husband of actress Bette Davis.