Biography

06/04/1866 - 08/04/1943

Frank Elmer Baldwin (R25) McKean, Potter and Tioga Counties 1909-1912 (R25) McKean, Potter and Tioga Counties 1917-1931

Frank Elmer Baldwin, born June 4, 1866, Duke Center, Otto Township, McKean County, Pennsylvania; son of John and Josephine White Baldwin; public school education; Chamberlain Institute, Randolph, New York; Saint Bonaventure College, Allegany, New York; taught school three years; University of Michigan, Law Department, 1893; attorney, private law practice, Austin, Potter County, Pennsylvania, 1894; married, Addie G. Wolters Baldwin, 1895, daughter, Emma Baldwin; engaged, real estate , banking and oil business; president, Bank of Austin; Mercantile Appraiser of McKean County, 1893; Burgess of Austin, two terms; school director, five years; postmaster, Potter County,  seven years; Chairman, Republican Potter County Committee, 1902; delegate, Republican State Conventions; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senator, 1909-1912; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senator, 1917-1931, President Pro Tempore, 1919-1920; died, August 4, 1943 (aged 77) Austin, Potter County, Pennsylvania, internment, Forest Hill Cemetery, Austin, Potter County, Pennsylvania. 

Pennsylvania Politics:

Chairman, Potter County Republican Party, 1902. 

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senator, 25th district, McKean, Potter and Tioga Counties, 1909-1912; Appropriations, Banks and Building and Loan Associations, Corporations (Chairman), Congressional Apportionment, Game and Fisheries, Judiciary General, and Mines and Mining.

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senator, 25th district, McKean, Potter and Tioga Counties,1917-1931, President Pro Tempore, 1919-1920; committee assignments, Appropriations, Banks and Building and Loan Associations, Corporations, Executive Nominations, Exposition Affairs, Forestry, Game and Fisheries, Insurance, Judiciary General (Chairman), Judiciary Special, Mines and Mining, Municipal Affairs, Public Roads and Highways.

Legacy:

Parents, John and Josephine White Baldwin, flood victims of Austin Dam Disaster, that leveled the entire town of Austin, Pennsylvania, September 30, 1911

United States President William Howard Taft addressed the town of Austin after the disaster, saying in a public broadcast, “I have been shocked and horrified by news of the catastrophe that has befallen your thriving village. I want to express to you my sympathy as an individual and as president of the United States. I am sure the entire nation joins me. Please wire me in Omaha as to the extent of the disaster and as to your needs.”

Pennsylvania State Senator Frank E. Baldwin had something to say as well - I defended property rights. I believed that government should not interfere in the affairs of private business. I objected to having state inspections of the dam. I did not want anything done that might cause Bayless to move his company—move to a state more friendly to free enterprise, with fewer government bureaucrats and less red tape. Now I feel the sorrow—the tragedy of losing my parents and my sister Grace, who tried so hard in vain to save them. Experience has taught me one cannot defend property rights at the expense of human rights.

The Dam That Could Not Break: Austin, 1911 By Michael A. Guidon, supplemented by Christine Crater

Cited: 

Cox, Harold. "Senate Members B". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

The Pennsylvania Manual, (1912). Miller, H.P., (Compiler). Baker, W.H., (Assistant Compiler). Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pages 1010-1013.

The Pennsylvania Manual, (1920). Miller, H.P., (Compiler). Baker, W.H., (Assistant Compiler). Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pages 1119, 1130, Biographical Sketches of Senators, page 1096. 

Frank Elmer Baldwin (1866-1943) - Find a Grave Memorial