Hobart, Garret A. (Garret Augustus), 1844-1899

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Garret Augustus Hobart (June 3, 1844 – November 21, 1899) was an American politician who served as the 24th vice president of the United States, from 1897 until his death. He was the sixth American vice president to die in office. Prior to serving as vice president, Hobart was an influential New Jersey politician and political operative.

Hobart was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, on the Jersey Shore, and grew up in nearby Marlboro. After attending Rutgers College, Hobart read law with prominent Paterson attorney Socrates Tuttle. Hobart both studied with Tuttle and married his daughter, Jennie. Although he rarely set foot in a courtroom, Hobart became wealthy as a corporate lawyer.

Hobart served in local governmental positions, and then successfully ran for office as a Republican, serving in both the New Jersey General Assembly, ending his time there by becoming Speaker, and the New Jersey Senate, where he became its president. Hobart was a longtime party official, and New Jersey delegates went to the 1896 Republican National Convention determined to nominate him for vice president. Hobart's political views were similar to those of McKinley, who was the presumptive Republican presidential candidate. With New Jersey a key state in the upcoming election, McKinley and his close adviser, future senator Mark Hanna, decided to have the convention select Hobart. The vice-presidential candidate emulated his running mate with a front porch campaign, though spending much time at the campaign's New York City office. McKinley and Hobart were elected.

As vice president, Hobart proved a popular figure in Washington and was a close adviser to McKinley. Hobart's tact and good humor were valuable to the President, as in mid-1899 when Secretary of War Russell Alger failed to understand that McKinley wanted him to leave office. Hobart invited Alger to his New Jersey summer home and broke the news to the secretary, who submitted his resignation to McKinley on his return to Washington. Hobart died on November 21, 1899 of heart disease at age 55; his place on the Republican ticket in 1900 was taken by New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Nast, Thomas, 1840-1902. Papers, 1860-1902. Rutherford B Hayes Presidential Center, Hayes Presidential Center
referencedIn Autograph File, H Houghton Library
referencedIn Frederick M. Dearborn collection of military and political Americana, Part I: The Revolution and the Administration, 1669-1958. Houghton Library
creatorOf Hobart, Garret A. (Garret Augustus), 1844-1899. Papers, 1880-1900. New Jersey Historical Society Library
referencedIn Garner & Co. Swatch book, 1896-1897. Winterthur Library
referencedIn Frederick Lieder political button collection, 1856-1918. Houghton Library
creatorOf Hobart, Garret A. (Garret Augustus), 1844-1899. Garret A. Hobart autograph [manuscript], 1889 January 16. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Brown, Josephine, of Freehold, N.J. Genealogical papers, 1660-1977. Rutgers University
referencedIn William McKinley Papers, circa 1847-1935, (bulk 1897-1901) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Nast, Thomas, 1840-1902. Papers, 1860-1902. University of Oslo Medical Library
referencedIn Fairbanks mss., 1819-1939 Lilly Library (Indiana University, Bloomington)
referencedIn Municipal Ulysses S. Grant Monument Committee letters, 1897 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Platt, Thomas Collier, 1833-1910. Thomas Collier Platt papers, 1851-1915 (inclusive). Yale University Library
referencedIn Lewis Eller Asher autograph collection, 1757-1925. Library of Congress
referencedIn Dewey, George, 1837-1917. Papers of George Dewey, 1890-1943. Library of Congress
referencedIn Papers, 1879-1938 (inclusive), 1897-1903 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Records of the Interstate Commerce Commission, 1887 - 1995. Railroad Valuation Maps, ca. 1915 - ca. 1920 National Archives Library, National Archives Records Administration
referencedIn Records of the Office of Speechwriting (Clinton Administration), 1993 - 2001. Michael Waldman's Files, 1995 - 2000 William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
referencedIn Congar, Horace N., 1817-1893. Papers, 1863-1905. New Jersey Historical Society Library
referencedIn Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685 - 2009. Certificates of Electors of the Electoral College for Massachusetts, 1840 - 1964 National Archives at Boston
referencedIn Murphy, Franklin, 1846-1920. Papers, 1863-1921. New Jersey Historical Society Library
referencedIn General Records of the United States Government, 1778 - 2006. Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, 1789 - 2013. National Archives Library, National Archives Records Administration
referencedIn Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1773 - 2007. Case Files of Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Applications Based on Revolutionary War Service, ca. 1800 - ca. 1912 National Archives Library, National Archives Records Administration
creatorOf Equitable Appraisal Company (New York, N.Y.). Appraisals, 1920-1938. New Jersey Historical Society Library
referencedIn Thomas Collier Platt papers, 1851-1915 Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
creatorOf Hay, John, 1838-1905. Correspondence, 1854-1914, "Hendry" to "House". Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
referencedIn Grant Monument Association (New York, N.Y.). Municipal Ulysses S. Grant Monument Committee letters, 1897. New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn Records of the National Park Service, 1785 - 2006. National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records, 2013 - 2017 National Archives Library, National Archives Records Administration
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Asher, Louis Eller, 1877-1948. person
associatedWith Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908 person
correspondedWith Congar, Horace N., 1817-1893. person
associatedWith Dearborn, Frederick M. (Frederick Myers), b. 1876 person
associatedWith Dewey, George, 1837-1917. person
associatedWith Equitable Appraisal Company (New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Fairbanks, Charles W. (Charles Warren), 1852-1918 person
associatedWith Garner & Co. corporateBody
associatedWith Grant Monument Association (New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Hay, John, 1838-1905. person
spouseOf Hobart, Jennie (Tuttle) person
associatedWith Holls, Frederick William, 1857-1903 person
associatedWith Lieder, Frederick W. C. (Frederick William Charles), 1881-1953 person
correspondedWith McKinley, William, 1843-1901. person
correspondedWith Murphy, Franklin, 1846-1920. person
correspondedWith Nast, Thomas, 1840-1902. person
memberOf New Jersey. Legislature. General Assembly corporateBody
memberOf New Jersey. Legislature. Senate corporateBody
associatedWith Platt, Thomas Collier, 1833-1910. person
memberOf Republican National Committee (U.S.) corporateBody
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Rutgers University corporateBody
associatedWith Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891 person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Freehold NJ US
Long Branch NJ US
Paterson NJ US
Marlboro Township NJ US
District of Columbia DC US
Subject
Occupation
Teachers
Businessmen
Lawyers
State Representative
Vice presidents
Activity

Person

Birth 1844-06-03

Death 1899-11-21

Male

Americans

English

Information

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