Aram J. Pothier

Aram Jules Pothier (July 26, 1854 – February 4, 1928) was an American banker and politician of French Canadian descent. He served as the 51st and 55th Governor of Rhode Island.

Aram J. Pothier
51st and 55th Governor of Rhode Island
In office January 5, 1909 – January 5, 1915
Lieutenant	Arthur Dennis Zenas W. Bliss Rosewell Burchard
Preceded by	James H. Higgins
Succeeded by	Robert Livingston Beeckman
In office January 6, 1925 – February 4, 1928
Lieutenant	Nathaniel W. Smith Norman S. Case
Preceded by	William S. Flynn
Succeeded by	Norman S. Case
Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island
In office 1897–1898
Governor	Elisha Dyer, Jr.
Preceded by	Edwin Allen
Succeeded by	William Gregory
3rd[1] Mayor of Woonsocket
In office 1894–1896
Member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives
In office 1887–1888
Preceded by	Daniel Pond
Succeeded by	George Greene
Personal details
Born	(1854-07-26)July 26, 1854 Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Died	February 4, 1928(1928-02-04) (aged 73) Woonsocket, Rhode Island, United States
Resting place	Precious Blood Cemetery Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Nationality	French Canadian
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Françoise de Charmigny
Relations	Zacharie Cloutier
Parents	Jules Pothier Domiltilde (Dallaire) Pothier
Residence	Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Alma mater	Nicolet College
Profession	Banker Politician

Personal life

Pothier was born in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, the son of Jules Pothier and Domiltilde (Dallaire) Pothier.[2] He attended the common schools in Canada and graduated from Nicolet College in Quebec.[3] At the time of his graduation, his parents had already moved to Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and he moved to Woonsocket to join them.

Pothier's house in Woonsocket

Pothier's father purchased a home on Pond Street around 1881, and Aram Pothier lived in the modest 1.5-story home until his death (while serving as governor) in 1928.[4]

He was a clerk for former Congressman Latimer W. Ballou at the Woonsocket Institute for Savings.[5]

Pothier met his wife Françoise de Charmigny in Paris at the 1900 Paris Exhibition. They were married in 1902 in Bridgeport, Connecticut.[6] He is a descendant of Zacharie Cloutier.

Political career

He began his political career in 1885 as a Republican member of the Woonsocket School Committee.[7] He was appointed by Governor Taft to the 1889 Paris Exposition.[8] Pothier was a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives from 1887 to 1888,[9] and served as city auditor from 1889 to 1894.

He was mayor of Woonsocket from 1894 to 1895, and declined renomination.[10] From 1897 to 1898 he served as Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island, during the first year that Elisha Dyer, Jr. was governor.[11] After his term as lieutenant governor, he retired from public office, but returned as a member of the Rhode Island Board of Education in 1907. Governor Dyer appointed him to the 1900 Paris Exhibition.[12]

Pothier was elected Governor of Rhode Island in 1908 and entered into service on January 5, 1909. He was reelected to three more one-year terms. At that time, biennial elections replaced annual elections for state officials, and Pothier won the first election for a two-year term as governor in 1912. He retired after this term, on January 5, 1915, when he was succeeded by fellow Republican Robert Livingston Beeckman.[13] In 1915, retiring from politics, he became President of the Woonsocket Institute for Savings and the Providence Union Trust Company.[14] He was again drafted by the Republican Party to run for governor in 1924.[15] He won that election and reelection in 1926, serving from January 6, 1925, until his death on February 4, 1928.[16] He was the first Rhode Island governor of French Canadian descent.

Death and legacy

He died on February 4, 1928, in Woonsocket and is interred in Precious Blood Cemetery in Woonsocket.[17]

In 2010, he was inducted into the American-French Genealogical Society Hall of Fame.[18]

See also

• Pothier House
• List of U.S. state governors born outside the United States

References

1. "Mayors of Woonsocket, RI". As it Was. Archived from the original on 17 March 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
2. "History of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations: Biographical". Ancestry.com. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
3. Rhode Island Board of Education (1921). Annual Report of the State Board of Education: 1st- Together with the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Education of Rhode Island. Rhode Island Board of Education. p. 103.
4. "MRA nomination for Woonsocket (PDF pages 109-110)" (PDF). Rhode Island Preservation. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
5. "History of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations: Biographical". Ancestry.com. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
6. "Newport Mercury". Newport Mercury. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
7. Rhode Island Board of Education (1921). Annual Report of the State Board of Education: 1st- Together with the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Education of Rhode Island. Rhode Island Board of Education. p. 103.
8. Rhode Island. Board of Education (1921). Annual Report of the State Board of Education: 1st- Together with the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Education of Rhode Island. Rhode Island. Board of Education. p. 103.
9. Rhode Island. Dept. of State (1912). Manual, with Rules and Orders, for the Use of the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island. Rhode Island Department of State. p. 385.
10. Rhode Island. Board of Education (1921). Annual Report of the State Board of Education: 1st- Together with the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Education of Rhode Island. Rhode Island. Board of Education. p. 103.
11. Rhode Island. Dept. of State (1912). Manual, with Rules and Orders, for the Use of the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island. Rhode Island Department of State. p. 385.
12. "History of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations: Biographical". Ancestry.com. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
13. Rhode Island. Board of Education (1921). Annual Report of the State Board of Education: 1st- Together with the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Education of Rhode Island. Rhode Island. Board of Education. p. 103.
14. Bradford-Rhodes & Company (1913). The Bankers Magazine, Volume 86. Bradford-Rhodes & Company. p. 191.
15. Federal Writer's Project. Rhode Island (1937). Rhode Island: A Guide to the Smallest State. North American Book Dist LLC. p. 58.
16. Capace, Nancy (2001). The Encyclopedia of Rhode Island. North American Book Dist LLC. p. 87.
17. "Rhode Island Presidents & Governors Graves of Governors Continued". Ancestry.com. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
18. "American-French Genealogical Society AFGS French Canadian Hall of Fame". American-French Genealogical Society. Retrieved April 28, 2014.

External links

• Aram Jules Pothier Monument
• National Governors Association
• Aram J. Pothier at Find a Grave

Party political offices
Preceded by Frederick H. Jackson	Republican nominee for Governor of Rhode Island 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912	Succeeded by Robert Livingston Beeckman
Preceded by Harold J. Gross	Republican nominee for Governor of Rhode Island 1924, 1926	Succeeded by Norman S. Case
Political offices
Preceded by Edwin Allen	Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island 1897–1898	Succeeded by William Gregory
Preceded by James H. Higgins	Governor of Rhode Island 1909–1915	Succeeded by Robert Livingston Beeckman
Preceded by William S. Flynn	Governor of Rhode Island 1925–1928	Succeeded by Norman S. Case