Garret Augustus Hobart

24th Vice President of the United States. He served as Vice President of the United States from 1897 until his death (1899) during the Administration of President William McKinley. His father was a descendent of early New England colonial settlers, his mother was of Dutch origin Garret attained his law degree from Rutgers College and commenced practicing law in Patterson, New Jersey. He entered the political arena when he was elected to and served within the New Jersey State Assembly (1873 to 1875), and later the New Jersey State Senate from 1877 to 1882. In addition, he served on numerous boards within the railroad, utilities and banking industries. In 1869, he married Esther Jane “Jennie” Tuttle, the daughter of Socrates Tuttle, a prominent New Jersey politician (Mayor of Patterson, New Jersey from 1871 to 1872). The couple’s union produced four children. Hobart earned the reputation as a highly likable man, which led to his Vice Presidential Nomination on William McKinley’s ticket. As a result, New Jersey turned Republican for the first time since 1872 and McKinley was elected president (1896). During his brief tenure as Vice President, he proved to be a valuable advisor to the President. Hobart played a key role in the McKinley Administration as he cast the deciding vote in the Senate supporting the decision to retain the Philippines following the Spanish-American War (1898). McKinley tasked Hobart to ask for Secretary of War Russell A. Alger, (who was embroiled in a scandal involving the sale of tainted beef supplied to US troops during the Spanish-American War) to resign. Suffering from heart failure and seriously ill, Hobart invited Alger to his Long Branch, New Jersey home to graciously ask for Alger’s resignation, which he complied. Hobart succumbed from heart disease at the age of fifty-five at his Patterson, New Jersey residence. His wife ‘Jennie’ would go on to make a name for herself as a prominent voice of the Anti-Suffrage Movement in the United States during the early part of the 20th Century.