Roswell P. Flower

Roswell Pettibone Flower


30th Governor of New York
In office January 1, 1892 – December 31, 1894
Lieutenant	William F. Sheehan
Preceded by	David B. Hill
Succeeded by	Levi P. Morton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 12th district
In office March 4, 1889 – September 16, 1891
Preceded by	William B. Cockran
Succeeded by	Joseph J. Little
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 11th district
In office November 8, 1881 – March 3, 1883
Preceded by	Levi P. Morton
Succeeded by	Orlando B. Potter
Personal details
Born	(1835-08-07)August 7, 1835 Theresa, New York
Died	May 12, 1899(1899-05-12) (aged 63) Eastport, New York
Political party	Democratic
Parents	Mary Ann and Nathan Monroe Flower
Religion	Presbyterian

Roswell Pettibone Flower (August 7, 1835 – May 12, 1899) was the 30th Governor of New York from 1892 to 1894.

Biography

He was born on August 7, 1835, to Nathan Monroe Flower and Mary Ann Flower, the sixth of nine children. In 1853, he became Deputy Postmaster of Watertown, New York, at a salary of $600 a year, and after six years had saved $1,000 and opened with a partner a jewelry store. Two years later, he bought his partner out, and continued in this business until 1869.

In 1869, Henry Keep, a former President of the New York Central Railroad, was dying and asked Roswell Flower, whose wife was a sister of Keep's wife Emma, to manage the $4,000,000 estate for his widow. Flower asked Keep for guidance on who he could trust, and named a business associate, Daniel Drew. Keep replied, "He is as honest a man as there is in the State of New York, but for fear that somebody else will cheat, he will always begin first."^[1] The business brought Flower to New York City where he became known as a shrewd financial administrator, and opened the banking house of R. P. Flower & Co.

He was elected as a Democrat to the 47th United States Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Levi P. Morton upon his appointment as Minister to France, and served from November 8, 1881, to March 3, 1883. He was also elected to the 51st and 52nd United States Congresses, and served from March 4, 1889, to September 16, 1891, when he resigned upon his nomination for Governor.

He was Governor of New York from 1892 to 1894, elected in 1891, the last one to serve a three-year term. During his term he signed into law the creation of the City of Niagara Falls.

He died of a heart attack on May 12, 1899 in Eastport, New York at the Long Island Country Clubhouse.^[2]

Legacy

A monument to Flower, designed by noted sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens in 1902, is located on lower Washington Street at Watertown. It is in the Public Square Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.^[3]

References

↑ Murlin, Edgar L. The New York Red Book - an Illustrated Legislative Manual. Albany: James B. Lyon, 1895, p. 78.
↑ "Roswell P. Flower Dies Suddenly. Ex-Governor Succumbs to Heart Disease at Eastport, L.I. Had Gone on Fishing Trip. Taken Ill Yesterday Afternoon and Died at 10:30 o'Clock P.M. The Second Attack Proved Fatal. Doctors Arrived on a Special Train. The Widow Prostrated". New York Times. May 13, 1899. Retrieved 2011-05-12. Ex-Gov. Roswell P. Flower died here suddenly at 10:30 o'clock to-night of heart disease. He was at the Country Clubhouse, where he usually spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of every week during the Spring and Summer, resting and enjoying the fishing.
↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.

External links

United States Congress. "Roswell P. Flower (id: F000217)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Off-Hand Portraits of Prominent New Yorkers by Stephen Fiske (re-published by BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2009, ISBN 1-103-16701-4, ISBN 978-1-103-16701-2, pages 148ff) [gives wrong birthyear "1838", and misstates relation to Keep]

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Levi P. Morton	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 11th congressional district 1881–1883	Succeeded by Orlando B. Potter
Preceded by William Bourke Cockran	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 12th congressional district 1889–1891	Succeeded by Joseph J. Little
Political offices
Preceded by David B. Hill	Governor of New York 1892–1894	Succeeded by Levi P. Morton
Academic offices
Preceded by Henry W. Sage	Chairman of Cornell Board of Trustees 1897–1899	Succeeded by Frank H. Hiscock

Governors and Lieutenant Governors of New York

Governors	G. Clinton Jay G. Clinton Lewis Tompkins Tayler D. Clinton Yates D. Clinton Pitcher Van Buren Throop Marcy Seward Bouck Wright Young Fish Hunt Seymour Clark King Morgan Seymour Fenton Hoffman J. Adams Dix Tilden Robinson Cornell Cleveland Hill Flower Morton Black T. Roosevelt Odell Higgins Hughes White J. Alden Dix Sulzer Glynn Whitman Smith Miller Smith F. Roosevelt Lehman Poletti Dewey Harriman Rockefeller Wilson Carey M. Cuomo Pataki Spitzer Paterson A. Cuomo

Lieutenant Governors	Van Cortlandt S. Van Rensselaer J. Van Rensselaer Broome Tayler Clinton Tayler Swift Tayler Root Tallmadge Pitcher P. Livingston Dayan Throop Stebbins Oliver E. Livingston Tracy Bradish Dickinson Gardiner Lester Fish Patterson Church Raymond Selden Campbell Floyd-Jones Alvord Woodford Beach Robinson Dorsheimer Hoskins Hill McCarthy Jones Sheehan Saxton Woodruff Higgins Bruce Raines Chanler White Cobb Conway Glynn Wagner Schoeneck Walker Wood Lusk Lunn Lowman Corning Lehman Bray Poletti Hanley Wallace Hanley Moore Wicks Mahoney DeLuca Wilson Anderson Krupsak Cuomo DelBello Anderson Lundine McCaughey Donohue Paterson Bruno Skelos Smith Espada Ravitch Duffy Hochul

Italics indicate acting officeholders

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 63829168 LCCN: no2008131520 US Congress: F000217

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