Arthur Sewall (November 25, 1835 – September 5, 1900) was an American shipbuilder from

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, best known as the Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1896, running mate to

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running ...

. From 1888 to 1896 he served as a member of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

and unsuccessfully ran for Maine's Senate seat against

Eugene Hale Eugene Hale (June 9, 1836October 27, 1918) was a Republican United States Senator from Maine. Biography Born in Turner, Maine, he was educated in local schools and at Maine's Hebron Academy. He was admitted to the bar in 1857 and served for n ...

. The only elective offices Sewall held were as councilman and alderman in the town of Bath, Maine.

Life

On November 25, 1835 Arthur Sewall was born to William and Rachel Sewall in

Bath, Maine Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. The population was 8,766 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County, which includes one city and 10 towns. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its ...

. In 1892 Sewall launched the '' Roanoke'', which at the time was the world's largest wooden ship. Following the death of his father he and his brother lead their successful and wealthy shipbuilding business and following his brother's death in 1879 he took complete control. He served as President of the

Maine Central The Maine Central Railroad Company was a U. S. Class I railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. By 1884, Maine Central was the longest railroad in New England. Maine Central had expanded to w ...

railroad from 1884 to 1893 and also served as President of the Bath National Bank. In June 1895 he came out in support of free silver and at the 1896 Democratic National Convention he took third place on the first ballot behind Representative Joseph C. Sibley and Publisher John R. McLean and after initially losing delegates on the second ballot rebounded and took the majority on the fifth ballot before being nominated by acclamation. His selection is believed to have been an effort to win votes among conservative and New England members of the party who were disturbed by the populist aspects of William Jennings Bryan. Arthur Sewall is also one of the few politicians to be an adherent of Swedenborgianism, a religion based on the writings of

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

theologian

Emanuel Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg (, ; born Emanuel Swedberg; 29 March 1772) was a Swedish pluralistic-Christian theologian, scientist, philosopher and mystic. He became best known for his book on the afterlife, ''Heaven and Hell'' (1758). Swedenborg had ...

. His main vice-presidential opponent, Garret A. Hobart (

Rep Rep, REP, or a variant may refer to: As a word * Rep (fabric), a ribbed woven fabric made from various materials * ''Rep'' (TV series), a 1982 British comedy series * '' The Rep'', an entertainment guide published by the ''Arizona Republic'' 1997 ...

), was also an Eastern banker and industrialist who had served on his party's national committee. Sewall was Bryan's running mate for

the first The First may refer to: * ''The First'' (album), the first Japanese studio album by South Korean boy group Shinee * ''The First'' (musical), a musical with a book by critic Joel Siegel * The First (TV channel), an American conservative opinion ne ...

of Bryan's three times as the Democratic presidential nominee. On September 5, 1900, Sewall died in Small Point, Maine, from

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

. He is interred in Oak Grove Cemetery in Bath, Maine. At the time of his death he was worth $5,000,000 ($167,350,000 in 2022 dollars).

Legacy

Sewall's grandson, Sumner Sewall, served as Governor of Maine from 1941 to 1945, as a Republican. In 2008, the ''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-De ...

'' referenced Sewall in an article criticizing Senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

's selection of Gov.

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...

as his vice presidential candidate in the 2008 presidential election, saying he had picked "the least qualified running mate since the Swedenborgian shipbuilder Arthur Sewall ran as William Jennings Bryan's No. 2 in 1896."''

'' article:
Obama gets newspapers' support

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sewall, Arthur 1835 births 1900 deaths American Swedenborgians Businesspeople from Maine Democratic Party (United States) vice presidential nominees Maine Democrats People from Bath, Maine Progressive Era in the United States 1896 United States vice-presidential candidates