Biography

12/24/1867 - 08/07/1934

William Scott Vare (R1) ) Philadelphia (Part) County 1923

Early Life: 

William Scott Vare, born December 24, 1867, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; son of Augustus and Abigail Vare; attended public schools; contractor, Vare Brothers, 1890-1912; married, Ida Morris; Recorder of deeds, Philadelphia, 1902-1912; delegate, Republican National Conventions, 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1912, resigned; elected, Republican, United States Congress, 1912-1923; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate 1923; elected, Republican United States Congress 1923-1927; elected, Republican Senator-elect, United States Senate, 1927, never seated, corruption; died, Atlantic City, New Jersey, August 7, 1934, interment: West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Early Career:

Grew up on a pig and produce farm, Philadelphia, location of Fourth Street and Snyder Avenue. John Wanamaker, the Department Store magnate took young Bill under his wing and paid for his tuition at Central High School in Philadelphia. Later, he worked as a storeboy at Wanamaker's.  

The Vare brothers started a family business hauling ash and garbage in South Philadelphia. Started construction contracting with his two older brothers, 1890. Vare Brothers contracting worked on excavating, paving and municipal contracts for the city of Philadelphia that totaled $7 million, 1909-1912. Their projects included building trolley tracks, sewers, Municipal Stadium, Broad Street subway and excavating the site of the Philadelphia Art Museum. 

Professional titles; business ownership; board memberships; local government; club memberships:

Member of the select council of Philadelphia, 1898-1901  

Authored:

My Forty Years in Politics, William S. Vare, Philadelphia, Roland Swain Company, 1933

Pennsylvania Politics: 

Recorder of deeds for Philadelphia 1902-1912.

Delegate, Republican National Conventions, 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924. 

Unsuccessful, Republican candidate, Mayor, Philadelphia, 1911. 

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, Philadelphia County, 1912, at the same time, elected, Republican, Sixty-second Congress, on May 24, 1912, vacancy, death, Henry H. Bingham. 

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1st district, Philadelphia (Part) County, 1923; fill vacancy, brother, Edwin Vare; committee assignments, Appropriations, City Passenger Railways, Congressional Apportionment, Corporations, Elections, Finance, Insurance, Law and Order, Municipal Affairs, Public Roads and Highway, Railroad (Chairman); resigned, November 30, 1923.

Continued Government Service/National Politics: 

Elected, Republican, United States House of Representatives, Sixty-second United States Congress, on May 24, 1912, vacancy, death, Henry H. Bingham; reelected, Sixty-third, sixty-fourth, sixty-fifth, sixty-sixth and sixty-seventh Congresses, May 24, 1912 - resigned January 2, 1923. 

Elected, Republican United States House of Representatives, Sixty-eighth, Sixty-ninth Congresses, March 4, 1923-March 3, 1927; not a candidate for reelection, 1926.

Candidate, United States Senator; presented credentials, Republican Senator-elect to the United States Senate for the term beginning March 4, 1927, but was not permitted to qualify, voted fifty-eight to twenty-two to deny the senate seat December 6, 1929, due to charges of corruption and fraud concerning his election; resumed his former business and political activities. 

Legacy: 

Youngest, three Vare brothers known as “Dukes of South Philadelphia,” all three, Pennsylvania State Senators, Edwin H. (oldest) and George A. Vare.

George A. Vare, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1st district, Philadelphia (Part) County, 1897-1908. 

George Augustus Vare  - Pennsylvania Senate Library (pasen.gov)

Edwin Hornberger Vare, Sr., Pennsylvania State Senate, 1st district, Philadelphia (Part) County, 1909-1922. 

Edwin Hornberger Vare Sr. - Pennsylvania Senate Library (pasen.gov)

George A. Vare, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1st district, Philadelphia (Part) County, 1897-1908. 

George Augustus Vare  - Pennsylvania Senate Library (pasen.gov)

Wife, Ida Morris, sister, of his sister-in-law Flora Morris, wife of brother, Edwin Hornberger Vare, Sr. 

Flora Morris Vare, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1st district, Philadelphia (Part) County, 1925-1928. 

Flora Morris Vare  - Pennsylvania Senate Library (pasen.gov)

Fourth cousin of Fletcher Wilbur Stites Pennsylvania State Senator, 12th District, Montgomery County, 1923-1926.

Fletcher Wilbur Stites  - Pennsylvania Senate Library (pasen.gov)

Cited: 

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

Cox, Harold. Senate1790-1869 (wilkes.edu). Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

Whitmore, R.E., (Compiler). (1923-1924). The Pennsylvania Manual, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pages 983, 990, Biographical Sketches of Senators, page 965. 

Beers, Paul B. (1980). Pennsylvania Politics Today and Yesterday: The Terrible Accommodation. Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 0-271-00238-7.  

Pennsylvania Politics Today and Yesterday: The Tolerable Accommodation - Paul B. Beers - Google Books

William Scott Vare (1867-1934) - Find a Grave Memorial