Waitstill R. Ranney (May 23, 1791 August 23, 1853) was a Vermont medical doctor and politician who served as 13th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1841 to 1843.
Biography Waitstill Randolph Ranney was born in Chester, Vermont on May 23, 1791, a son of Waitstill Ranney (1762–1839) and Abigail (Harlow) Ranney. He prepared for college at the Charlestown, New Hampshire school run by the Reverend Dan Foster. Ranney attended Dartmouth and Middlebury Colleges and became a physician while also maintaining a farm in Townshend.Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College, published by the college, 1901, page 239 In 1827 Ranney received an honorary degree from Castleton Medical College.History of Vermont, by Zadock Thompson, 1842, page 163
Ranney served in several local offices, including school board member.Collections Relating to the History and Inhabitants of the Town of Townshend, Vermont, by James H. Phelps, 1877, page 120 He was a Delegate to the 1828 Vermont constitutional convention and a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1833 to 1834.The Vermont Historical Gazetteer, edited by Abby Maria Hemenway, Volume 5, 1891, page 543
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.Gazetteer and Business Directory of Windham County, Vt., 1724-1884, by Hamilton Child, 1884, page 39
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...".One Thousand Men, by Vermont Historical Society, 1915, page 195
He served as Lieutenant Governor from 1841 to 1843.Early History of Vermont, by LaFayette Wilbur, Volume 2, 1900, page 407
Ranney remained active until his health began to fail in the late 1840s, after which he lived in retirement in Townshend.The Bottum (Longbottom) Family Album, by Rebekah Deal Oliver, 1970, page 283 He died in Townshend on August 23, 1853, and was buried in Townshend's Oakwood Cemetery.
Family In 1811, Ranney married Phebe Atwood of Chester. She died in 1844, and in 1846, Ranney married Mrs. Mary A. Cook. With his first wife, Ranney was the father of 13 children, nine sons and four daughters. The sons included Ambrose Ranney, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts.Men of Progress, by Richard Herndon, 1896, page 86
References
External links
Waitstill R. Ranney at The Political Graveyard