William Thomas Haines (August 7, 1854 – June 4, 1919) was an American politician and the 49th Governor of Maine.

Early years

William Thomas Haines was born in

Levant, Maine Levant is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,970 at the 2020 census. History Originally called Kenduskeag Plantation, the town was founded in 1802 by Major Moses Hodsden who built three houses, a sawmill, a g ...

on August 7, 1854. As an undergraduate at the University of Maine, he founded the Eternal Companions Society on the Orono Campus in 1875. The fraternity was later chartered as the Beta Eta chapter of

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, as of 2022 it consists of 144 active chapters in the Unite ...

and Haines was issued roll number 1 in the new organization. He graduated as Valedictorian of the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

class of 1876 and went on to study law at Albany Law School where he completed his LL.B. degree in 1878. In May, 1879, Haines settled at Oakland (then West Waterville), Kennebec County, Maine, and commenced the practice of law. He remained there until October, 1880. He then moved to

Waterville, Maine Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The city is home to Colby College and Thomas College. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census the populatio ...

Politics

Haines became the county attorney of

Kennebec County Kennebec County is a County (United States), county located in the South-central portion of the U.S. state of Maine. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 123,642. Its county seat is Augusta, Maine, Augusta, the state ...

in 1882. He held that position for five years. He became a member of the

Maine State Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constitution ...

in 1888. He held that position until 1892. He became a member of the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via p ...

in 1895. He served as the attorney general of Maine (1896-1901) and then became a member of the governor’s executive council (1901-1905).

Governor of Maine

Haines was nominated for the governorship of Maine by the Republican Party in 1912. He went on to win the general election by a popular vote. He held the governor's office from January 1, 1913 to January 6, 1915. During his administration, a bond issue was authorized for road improvements. A public utilities bill and an anti-trust act were sanctioned. He was unsuccessful in his re-election bid.

Personal life

Haines married Edith S. Hemenway. He had three children. He was a Unitarian.

References

Other sourses

* Sobel, Robert and John Raimo. ''Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978''. Greenwood Press, 1988. {{DEFAULTSORT:Haines 1854 births 1919 deaths Republican Party governors of Maine University of Maine alumni People from Levant, Maine Politicians from Waterville, Maine Albany Law School alumni Members of the Executive Council of Maine American Unitarians 19th-century American politicians Maine attorneys general