Roland Hill Hartley (June 26, 1864September 21, 1952) was a Canadian-American politician who served as the tenth governor of Washington from 1925 to 1933. A member of the Republican Party, he was defeated for a third term during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, and was succeeded by a Democrat. Born in

New Brunswick, Canada New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, he moved to

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

in the United States as a young man and entered the timber industry. In 1902 he moved to

Everett, Washington Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...

, where he ultimately had interests in several timber companies and a tugboat company. In 1910 he entered electoral politics, serving one term as mayor of Everett. Later he was elected to the State House, where he served one term.

Early life

Hartley, the eighth of twelve children, was born at Shogomoc in the British colony of New Brunswick on June 26, 1864. (It became the Province of New Brunswick after

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Canada, Dom ...

in 1867). He was the son of Rev. Edward Hartley and Rebecca Barker (Whitehead) Hartley. Hartley moved to

about 1878, joining older brothers Wilder, Benjamin, and Guilford in

Brainerd, Minnesota Brainerd is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 14,395 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Crow Wing County. Brainerd straddles the Mississippi River several miles upstream from its confluence with ...

Career

Business

After moving to Minnesota, he worked summers on bonanza farms in

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...

and winters in the logging industry. He later relocated to

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, finding work as a bookkeeper for Clough Brothers Lumber Company. In 1888, he married Nina M. Clough, daughter of David Clough, cementing his ties to Clough Brothers. The couple had three children, Edward, David, and Mary. Hartley rose to become manager and then Vice President of Clough Brothers. His father-in-law was elected

Governor of Minnesota The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. ...

in 1895, and in 1897 Hartley began serving as his private secretary. During the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

of 1898, he additionally served as the Governor's representative and staff aide to the

Minnesota National Guard The Minnesota National Guard is a state-based military force of more than 13,000 soldiers and airmen, serving in 61 communities across the state. Operated in the U.S. state of Minnesota, it is reserve component of the National Guard. The Cons ...

, acquiring the honorific title of Colonel. In 1900, David Clough moved to

to establish a new sawmill. Hartley, in turn, managed development of the new

Cass Lake, Minnesota Cass Lake is a city in Cass County, Minnesota, United States, located within the boundaries of the Leech Lake Indian Reservation. It is surrounded by Pike Bay Township. Cass Lake had a population of 675 in the 2020 census. It is notable as t ...

townsite for his older brother Guildford Hartley. Hartley rejoined his father-in-law in Everett in 1902, eventually assuming roles as either manager or owner of Hartley and Lovejoy Logging Company, the Clark-Nickerson Lumber Company, the Everett Logging Company, the Clough-Hartley Mill, and Everett City Tug Boat Company.

Politics

Hartley had joined the Republican Party. He was elected mayor of

, serving one term from 1910 to 1912. He was next elected in 1914 to the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

, serving from 1915 to 1917. Hartley was elected, in 1925, as tenth

governor of Washington The governor of Washington is the head of government of Washington and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.WA Const. art. III, § 2. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws,WA Const. art. III, § 5. the power to either a ...

. His father-in-law David Clough arranged to have the gavel used for his swearing-in as governor of

to be the one used for the swearing-in of his son-in-law Hartley as governor in Washington. Hartley's major accomplishments during his governorship were the creation of a centralized state highway department and passage of new state timber laws. In 1925, he vetoed House Bill 131, which would have created a separate state prison for women. The bill had passed the legislature under the sponsorship of

Belle Reeves Belle Reeves (August 17, 1870 – January 2, 1948) was an American Democratic politician from Washington. After first winning election as a write-in candidate in 1922, she served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives representi ...

(D- Chelan County) and

Mabel Ingersoll Miller Mabel is an English female given name derived from the Latin ''amabilis'', "lovable, dear".Reclams Namensbuch, 1987, History Amabilis of Riom (died 475) was a French male saint who logically would have assumed the name Amabilis upon entering th ...

(R-

Snohomish County Snohomish County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Washington, after nearby King and Pierce counties, and the 75th-most populous ...

). In his veto message, Hartley wrote that if the bill Hartley was the first Washington

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 ...

governor to serve two terms and to run for a third. He lost the Republican primary to

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

John Arthur Gellatly John Arthur Gellatly (July 6, 1869 – July 6, 1963) was an American Republican politician from the U.S. state of Washington. He served as the tenth Lieutenant Governor of Washington and four-term mayor of Wenatchee, Washington. Gellatly an ...

and was succeeded by Clarence D. Martin.

Death

Hartley died in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, on September 21, 1952. He is interred at Evergreen Cemetery (Everett, Washington).

References

External links

Political Graveyard
*http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=8008
Washington Secretary of State
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartley, Roland H. Republican Party governors of Washington (state) 1864 births 1952 deaths People from York County, New Brunswick Canadian emigrants to the United States Politicians from Everett, Washington Mayors of Everett, Washington Republican Party members of the Washington House of Representatives