Bert M. Fernald

"Senator Fernald" redirects here. For the New Hampshire Senate member, seeMark Fernald.

Bert Manfred Fernald
47thGovernor of Maine
In office January 6, 1909 – January 4, 1911
Preceded by	William T. Cobb
Succeeded by	Frederick W. Plaisted
United States Senator fromMaine
In office September 12, 1916 – August 23, 1926
Preceded by	Edwin C. Burleigh
Succeeded by	Arthur R. Gould
Member of theMaine Senate
In office 1898-1902
Member of theMaine House of Representatives
In office 1896-1898
Personal details
Born	(1858-04-03)April 3, 1858 Poland, Maine
Died	August 23, 1926(1926-08-23)(aged 68) Poland, Maine
Political party	Republican

Bert Manfred Fernald(April 3, 1858 – August 23, 1926) was an American farmer, businessman, andRepublicanpolitician who became the47thGovernor of Maineand aUnited States senator.He was chairman of theUnited States Senate Committee on Public Buildings and Groundsfor three terms.

Early life, education, and career

Born inWest Poland,Maine,Fernald suffered debilitating injuries from an early age, enduring several operations and not beginning to walk until he was six years old.He attended the public schools, and thenHebron Academyuntil the age of seventeen, when his father died.He then entered a business and preparatory school inBoston,after which he taught school (and was elected supervisor of schools in 1878), and then engaged in the canning, dairy, and telephone businesses.He returned to his family farm, where he "established one of the best Holstein herds in the State", and a corn canning operation.He was elected to theMaine House of Representativesand served from 1896 to 1898 where he "attracted attention by several able speeches",and where his tenure was marked by his fine singing voice, and then from 1898 to 1902 in theMaine Senate.

Governorship

Fernald was a candidate for Governor of Maine in 1904,but was unsuccessful in his bid for the Republican nomination.However, he remained popular in the party, and ultimately secured the nomination in 1908 "without a dissenting vote".He was elected, and served as a Governor of Maine from 1909 until 1911.In 1910, he was also elected president of theNational Canners Association.In April 1909, Fernald vetoed a bill providing mandatory sentences in liquor cases, contending that it would deprive the courts of discretion.

Senate career

In 1916 he was elected as aRepublicanto the U.S. Senate by defeatingKenneth C.M. Sills,who was then Dean ofBowdoin College,to fill the vacancy caused by the death ofEdwin C. Burleigh.In the Senate, Fernand took office on September 12, 1916 and was initially "a radical in his party", but eventually "became one of the staunchest of the Old Guard as he rose to an important position".In his first term, he opposed farm credit measures being debated in Congress, disputing claims that deflation in the aftermath ofWorld War Idisproportionately affected farmers.Fernald was reelected in 1918,and in 1919, he "rose to the defense of the packers, then under criticism by theFederal Trade Commission",characterizing the regulation of that industry as" badgering, harrying and heckling American business interests ".He supported PresidentCalvin Coolidge,but opposed U.S. entry into thePermanent Court of International Justice.He was reelected again in 1924 and served until his death on August 23, 1926.

Personal life, death, and legacy

Fernald married Annie Keene in 1877, with whom he had a daughter and a son.A large man, in 1909, Fernald was a speaker at the annual meeting, in Portland, of the "New England Fat Men's Association", all of whose members had to weigh at least 201 pounds.

Fernald died at his home inWest Poland, Maine,following a ten-day illness, at the age of 68.The Fernald family farm is still in existence. Its white barn has the name Fernald Family Farm in black visible from the road.

See also

• List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–1949)

External links

• Media related toBert M. Fernaldat Wikimedia Commons