Waitstill R. Ranney

Waitstill R. Ranney (May 23, 1791 – August 23, 1853) was a Vermont doctor and politician who served as 13th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1841 to 1843.

Waitstill R. Ranney
Townshend Historical Society illustration of Ranney, circa 1841
13th Lieutenant governor of Vermont
In office
1841–1843
Preceded byDavid M. Camp
Succeeded byHorace Eaton
Member of the Vermont Senate from Windham County
In office
1836–1838
Serving with Phineas White (1836, 1837), William Henry (1836), John Phelps (1837)
Preceded byNone (position created)
Succeeded byDavid Chandler, Calvin Townesley, Laban Jones
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Townshend
In office
1833–1834
Preceded byJohn P. Marsh
Succeeded byChapin Howard
Personal details
Born(1791-05-23)May 23, 1791
Chester, Vermont, U.S.
DiedAugust 23, 1853(1853-08-23) (aged 62)
Townshend, Vermont, U.S.
Resting placeOakwood Cemetery, Townshend, Vermont, U.S.
Political partyWhig
Spouse(s)Phebe Atwood (m. 1811)
Mary A. Cook (m. 1846)
Children13 (including Ambrose Ranney)
EducationDartmouth College (attended)
Middlebury College (attended)
ProfessionPhysician

Biography

Waitstill Randolph Ranney was born in Chester, Vermont on May 23, 1791, a son of Waitstill Ranney (1762–1839) and Abigail (Harlow) Ranney.[1] He prepared for college at the Charlestown, New Hampshire school run by the Reverend Dan Foster.[1] Ranney attended Dartmouth and Middlebury Colleges and became a physician while also maintaining a farm in Townshend.[2] In 1827 Ranney received an honorary degree from Castleton Medical College.[3]

Ranney served in several local offices, including school board member.[4] He was a Delegate to the 1828 Vermont constitutional convention and a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1833 to 1834.[5]

He became active in the Whig Party at its founding, served in the Vermont Senate from 1836 to 1838. He transferred his farm to one of his sons in the late 1830s and moved to a home in the center of town.[6]

Ranney presided over the famous July, 1840 Whig political meeting on Stratton Mountain at which Daniel Webster delivered a well-known speech that began "Fellow citizens, I have come to meet you among the clouds...".[7]

He served as Lieutenant Governor from 1841 to 1843.[8]

Ranney remained active until his health began to fail in the late 1840s, after which he lived in retirement in Townshend.[9] He died in Townshend on August 23, 1853, and was buried in Townshend's Oakwood Cemetery.[10]

Family

In 1811, Ranney married Phebe Atwood of Chester.[1] She died in 1844, and in 1846, Ranney married Mrs. Mary A. Cook.[1] With his first wife, Ranney was the father of 13 children, nine sons and four daughters.[1] The sons included Ambrose Ranney, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts.[1][11]

References
  1. Adams, Charles Collard (1908). Middletown Upper Houses: A History of the North Society of Middletown, Connecticut, From 1650 to 1800. New York, NY: The Grafton Press. pp. 250–254. ISBN 9780598994349 – via Google Books.
  2. Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College, published by the college, 1901, page 239
  3. History of Vermont, by Zadock Thompson, 1842, page 163
  4. Collections Relating to the History and Inhabitants of the Town of Townshend, Vermont, by James H. Phelps, 1877, page 120
  5. The Vermont Historical Gazetteer, edited by Abby Maria Hemenway, Volume 5, 1891, page 543
  6. Gazetteer and Business Directory of Windham County, Vt., 1724-1884, by Hamilton Child, 1884, page 39
  7. One Thousand Men, by Vermont Historical Society, 1915, page 195
  8. Early History of Vermont, by LaFayette Wilbur, Volume 2, 1900, page 407
  9. The Bottum (Longbottom) Family Album, by Rebekah Deal Oliver, 1970, page 283
  10. Cutler, C. W. (August 23, 1853). "Vermont Vital Records, 1720-1908; Death and Burial Record for Waitstill R. Ranney". Ancestry.com. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  11. Men of Progress, by Richard Herndon, 1896, page 86
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