George Mason La Monte (June 4, 1863 – December 24, 1927) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and Democratic politician. He was the Democratic nominee for

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in 1918 and served as chairman of the board of the Prudential Insurance Company.

Early life and business career

La Monte was born in 1863 in

Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, located in the Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River. It was a center of tobacco production and was an area of Confederate activity ...

, the son of George T. La Monte and Rebecca Kern. His family later settled in Bound Brook, where he lived until his death. He studied at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

for a year before entering

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

, where he graduated in 1884. After working as a commercial reporter for the Bradstreet company, he trained at the paper company of Augustine Smith & Co. for several years. La Monte then joined his father in the formation of a company to manufacture safety paper used as an anti-fraud measure in the printing of checks and money orders. The company, George La Monte & Son, had its main office in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and its manufacturing plant in

Nutley, New Jersey Nutley is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 30,143. What is now Nutley was originally incorporated as Franklin Township by an act of the New Jersey Legisla ...

. La Monte was president of the company for thirty-one years.

Political career

In 1911 La Monte served a term in the New Jersey General Assembly. He was a delegate to the

1912 Democratic National Convention The 1912 Democratic National Convention was held at the Fifth Regiment Armory off North Howard Street in Baltimore from June 25 to July 2, 1912. The Convention The convention was held at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore from June 25 t ...

and a presidential elector for

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

. From 1912 to 1916 he was the New Jersey State Commissioner of Banking and Insurance. In 1918 he was the Democratic candidate for the open seat in the

left vacant after the death of William Hughes. ( David Baird was elected to fill the remainder of Hughes' term but did not stand for reelection.) Though La Monte did not campaign actively for his candidacy, President Wilson wrote a public letter warmly endorsing him. In the general election, La Monte was defeated by

Walter Evans Edge Walter Evans Edge (November 20, 1873October 29, 1956) was an American diplomat and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician who served as the 36th governor of New Jersey, from 1917 to 1919 and again from 1944 to 1947, during both ...

, then serving as

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Later life

After the election, La Monte returned to his business and philanthropic interests. He served as president of the First National Bank of Bound Brook and was a major contributor to Bound Brook civic institutions. After several years on the board of directors of the Prudential Insurance Company, he was elected chairman of the board in 1925, serving in that position until his death. La Monte lived for many years at the Piedmont Farm in Bound Brook, where he maintained a prized herd of Guernsey cows. He married Anna I. Vaill in 1887, and they had three children: George V. La Monte (vice president of his father's firm), Archibald D. La Monte, and Isabel La Monte (who married Edmond B. Hackett). On December 24, 1927, La Monte died of heart disease at the Weylin Hotel in New York City. He was 64 years old.

References

External links

Biographical information for George M. La Monte
from

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Monte, George M. 1863 births 1927 deaths Politicians from Danville, Virginia People from Bound Brook, New Jersey Politicians from Somerset County, New Jersey Columbia University alumni Wesleyan University alumni American manufacturing businesspeople American philanthropists Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Prudential Financial people