Elisha Dyer Jr. (November 29, 1839November 29, 1906) was a

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

politician who was 45th

Governor of Rhode Island The governor of Rhode Island is the head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, o ...

from 1897 to 1900. He was the son of

Elisha Dyer Elisha Dyer (July 20, 1811 – May 17, 1890) was an American politician and the 25th Governor of Rhode Island. Early life Dyer was born in Providence, Rhode Island on July 20, 1811 to an old New England family which traced its Dyer ancestry ba ...

, Governor of Rhode Island from 1857 to 1859.

Early life

Dyer was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. He was the son of Rhode Island Governor

(1811–1890) and Anna Jones (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Hoppin) Dyer (1815–1884). His siblings included George Rathbun Dyer (1834–1851), Anna Jones Dyer Hubbard (1844–1884), Gabriel Bernon Dyer (1847–1902), and William Jones Dyer (1850–1915). He earned a bachelor's degree in

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von L ...

. While attending Brown, he joined the

Zeta Psi Fraternity Zeta Psi () is a collegiate fraternity. It was founded in June 1, 1847 at New York University. The organization now comprises fifty-three active chapters and thirty-four inactive chapters, encompassing roughly fifty thousand members, and is a ...

Career

Military service

Dyer's military career began in October 1856 when he enlisted in the First Light Infantry, a prestigious unit of the Rhode Island Militia located in Providence. On April 8, 1858 he was appointed by his father as a colonel and aide-de-camp on his father's military staff. He relinquished the position when his father left office in May 1859. On the outbreak of the Civil War, Dyer enlisted as the 4th sergeant of the 1st Light Artillery Battery of Rhode Island on April 15, 1861. Sergeant Dyer was sent with the battery to

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river tha ...

to train other volunteer artillery units. Dyer was discharged shortly after his arrival due to accidental injuries he suffered after an explosion of a limber chest, on April 21, 1861. On September 28, 1861 he was commissioned lieutenant and commissary of the Providence Marine Corps of Artillery. He was promoted to captain on April 28, 1862 and to major on June 7, 1862. He also served as military aide-de-camp to Governor James Y. Smith, with the rank of colonel, from May 26, 1863 to May 29, 1866. On June 7, 1869 he was elected lieutenant colonel commanding the Providence Marine Corps of Artillery, serving until April 24, 1871. He was re-elected as lieutenant colonel of the Providence Marine Corps of Artillery on April 29, 1872 and served until April 27, 1874. On May 10, 1875 he was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel and was placed in command of 1st Battalion of Light Artillery and served until May 13, 1878. On February 7, 1882, Dyer was appointed as adjutant general of the Rhode Island Militia and was promoted to the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. He held this position until October 31, 1895 when he retired at his own request. His 13 years in office was one of the longest tenures in that position.

Political career

Dyer was elected to the

Rhode Island Senate The Rhode Island Senate is the upper house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the lower house being the Rhode Island House of Representatives. It is composed of 38 Senators, each of w ...

in 1877 and to the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is composed of 75 members, elected t ...

in 1882. He then served as Adjutant General of Rhode Island, with the rank of brigadier general, from 1882 to 1895. In 1896, he was elected

as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. He was re-elected twice and served from 1897 to 1900. After serving as governor, he was again elected to the state Senate in 1904, and then was elected

Mayor of Providence The following is a list of mayors of Providence, Rhode Island. Originally the term for the mayor was one year, from June to June. In 1873, the term was lengthened to January, and then from January to January. In 1913, the term was lengthened to tw ...

in 1905 and took office the following January and served until his death on November 29, 1906, his 67th birthday.

Memberships

Upon his father's death, in 1890, he succeeded to First Class membership in the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...

. Dyer was admitted as an hereditary member of the Rhode Island

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...

in 1898 by right of his descent from Captain William Jones, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. He was a charter member of the Rhode Island Society of Colonial Wars in 1897. He joined the Rhode Island Society of the

Sons of the American Revolution The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR or NSSAR) is an American Congressional charter, congressionally chartered organization, founded in 1889 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky. A non-prof ...

in 1899 and served as its president from 1903 to 1904.

Personal life

Dyer was married to Nancy Anthony Viall (1843–1920). She was the daughter of William Viall and Mary Brayton Anthony. Together, they were the parents of: * Elisha Dyer III (1862–1917), who married Sidney Turner Swan (1857–1933). * George Rathbone Dyer (1867–1867), who died young. * George Rathbone Dyer (1869–1934), who married Grace Gurnee Scott (1870–1926) * Hezekiah Anthony Dyer (1872–1943), who married Charlotte Osgood Tilden (1874–1953) He died in Providence, while serving in office as Mayor, on his 67th birthday in 1906. He is interred in

Swan Point Cemetery Swan Point Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Established in 1846 on a 60-acre (0.24 km2) plot of land, it has approximately 40,000 interments. History The cemetery was first organ ...

in Providence.

References

External links

National Governors Association profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dyer, Elisha 1839 births 1906 deaths Republican Party governors of Rhode Island Republican Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Republican Party Rhode Island state senators Mayors of Providence, Rhode Island Brown University alumni Burials at Swan Point Cemetery General Society of Colonial Wars 19th-century American politicians Dyer family