Governor George Whitman Hendee

Born in Stowe, Vermont, GEORGE WHITMAN HENDEE studied law and was admitted to the Bar in 1855. In addition to practicing law, he served for many years as Superintendent of Schools in Morrisville, Vermont. He was also a director of the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad, president of the Montreal, Portland and Boston Railroad, vice president of the Union Savings Bank and Trust Company of Morrisville, and receiver of the National Bank of Poultney and of the Vermont National Bank of St. Albans. He was the State’s Attorney for Lamoille County from 1858 to 1859 and served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1861 to 1862 and in the Vermont Senate from 1866 to 1868. Hendee was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1869, and as such succeeded to the governorship upon the death of Peter T. Washburn. He served for the remainder of Washburn’s term but did not seek election as governor himself. He went on to serve as a member of Congress from 1873 to 1878 and as a National Bank Examiner from 1879 to 1885.