William Stiles Bennet (November 9, 1870 – December 1, 1962) was an American politician and a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and father of Augustus Witschief Bennet.

Biography

Born in

Port Jervis, New York Port Jervis is a city located at the confluence of the Neversink and Delaware rivers in western Orange County, New York, United States, north of the Delaware Water Gap. Its population was 8,775 at the 2020 census. The communities of Deerpark, ...

, Bennet was the son of James and Alice Leonora (Stiles) Bennet and attended the common schools. He graduated from Port Jervis Academy,

, in 1889; and from

Albany Law School Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and has an affiliation agreement with University at A ...

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

, in 1892. He married Gertrude Witschief, on June 30, 1896.

Career

Bennet was a lawyer in private practice and an official reporter of the Orange County Board of Supervisors from 1892 to 1893. He was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

(New York County, 21st District) in

1901 Events January * January 1 – The Crown colony, British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Western Australia Federation of Australia, federate as the Australia, ...

and

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world's f ...

. He served as justice of the municipal court of

New York, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...

, 1903. He served as member of the

United States Immigration Commission The United States Immigration Commission (also known as the Dillingham Commission after its chairman, Republican Senator William P. Dillingham of Vermont) was a bipartisan special committee formed in February 1907 by the United States Congress, Pre ...

from 1907 to 1910 and was one of two (of fourteen) members that generally opposed the restriction of immigration. He served as delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1908 and 1916. Bennet also spoke out against the denial of civil rights to African Americans in southern states, noting that those states benefited from greater representation because of the size of their black population but prevented those black citizens from voting. 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 ...

to the Fifty-ninth and to the two succeeding Congresses, Bennet served as U. S. Representative for the seventeenth district of New York from March 4, 1905, to March 3, 1911. An unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Sixty-second Congress in 1910, he was elected to the Sixty-fourth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Joseph A. Goulden of the twenty-seventh district of New York and served from November 2, 1915 to March 3, 1917. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Sixty-fifth Congress in 1916. Bennet was the official parliamentarian of the Republican National Convention at Chicago in 1916, United States delegate to the Seventeenth International Congress Against Alcoholism held at Copenhagen, 1923, as well as a business executive. An unsuccessful candidate for election to the Seventy-fifth Congress in 1936, he served as a delegate to the New York state constitutional convention in 1938. He was an unsuccessful candidate at a special election in 1944 to fill a vacancy in the Seventy-eighth Congress.

Death

Bennet died in Falkirk Hospital, Central Valley,

Orange County, New York Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen. This county was first created in 1683 and reorganized with its present boundaries in 1798. Orange ...

, on December 1, 1962 (age 92 years, 22 days). He was cremated; his ashes are

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

at Laurel Grove Cemetery, Port Jervis, New York.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennet, William Stiles 1870 births 1962 deaths People from Port Jervis, New York Albany Law School alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)