Allen Miller Fletcher (September 25, 1853 – May 11, 1922) was an American politician who served as the 54th governor of Vermont from 1912 to 1915.
Biography Fletcher was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on September 25, 1853.A. N. Marquis, Who's Who in New England, 1915, page 412 The son of a successful banker whose family was originally from Proctorsville, Vermont, he was educated at Willston Seminary in East Hampton, Massachusetts, and became a banker and businessman with homes in Indianapolis and New York City. In 1881 he built a summer home in Proctorsville.William Richard Cutter, New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial, Volume 3, 1914, page 1456 He married Mary E. Bence and they had three children. In 1899 he moved to New York City and became a member of the Stock Exchange. Six years later he retired to spend more time in Vermont.
A Republican, Fletcher was a Proctorsville Village Trustee and served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1902 to 1903, the Vermont State Senate from 1904 to 1905, and the Vermont House again from 1906 to 1912.Vermont Historical Society, Proceedings of the Vermont Historical Society, 1921, pages 284 to 285Chas. R. Cummings, Allen M. Fletcher, The Vermonter magazine, January, 1916, pages 151 to 152Prentiss Cutler Dodge, Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography, 1912, page 192Boston Globe, Fletcher on First Ballot, October 3, 1912Boston Globe, The Vermont Election, October 4, 1912 He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1908. Fletcher was a leader in the legislature; during his Senate term he was chairman of the Finance Committee. During the 1906 to 1908 legislative session, he was chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. In his final two House terms, he was chairman of both the Rules and Ways & Means Committees.
In 1912, Fletcher was elected governor over Democrat Harland B. Howe and Progressive Fraser Metzger, and he served from 1912 to 1915. Fletcher was selected by the Vermont General Assembly after no candidate obtained the popular vote majority required by the Vermont Constitution. While in office the end of Fletcher's term was extended from October 1914 to January 1915 as part of changing the start and end dates of all statewide offices to January.Robert Sobel, John Raimo, Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Volume 4, 1978
After leaving the Governor's office, Fletcher returned to his business interests, and was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in 1916, losing to incumbent Carroll S. Page.Vermont State Archives, , 2006, page 1
Death and legacy
Fletcher died of a cerebral hemorrhage while staying at Rutland's Berwick Hotel.Hartford Courant, Obituary, Allen M. Fletcher, May 13, 1922 He is interred at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana.Political Graveyard
Fletcher's family made numerous contributions for civic causes in Cavendish and Ludlow including constructing and donating Ludlow's Fletcher Library in 1901.Donna Moxley, Ludlow Library Project Approved, Rutland Herald, July 25, 2001 His home "The Castle" is now an inn and restaurant near Okemo Mountain ski resort.Jane Roy Brown, Heir to a Rich History in Vermont, Boston Globe, December 18, 2005 In addition, his heirs donated the Ludlow property that is today the Fletcher Farm School, a non-profit educational center that offers instruction in the arts.Vermont Development Commission, Vermont Life, Volumes 7-8, 1952, page 5
Fletcher's son Allen M. Fletcher Jr. served in the Vermont House and Senate in the 1940s.Council of State Governments, State Administrative Officials Classified by Functions, 1949, page 147
References
External links National Governors Association Political Graveyard