Vivian M. Lewis
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who was the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nominee for Governor of New Jersey
Governor of New Jersey
The Office of the Governor of New Jersey is the executive branch for the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of Governor is an elected position, for which elected officials serve four year terms. While individual politicians may serve as many terms as they can be elected to, Governors cannot be...
in 1910 against Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
.
Lewis was born in Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
in 1869 to Isaac Arriston and Hanna (Davies) Lewis. He attended local schools in Paterson. As was the custom of the time, he studied law with private tutors and was admitted to the bar in 1892. During this time he also wrote for New York newspapers.
In 1897 he was elected as a Republican to the New Jersey General Assembly
New Jersey General Assembly
The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.Since the election of 1967 , the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for a term of two years, each representing districts with average...
. He was re-elected in 1899 and 1900, serving as majority leader in the Assembly during his last term.
In 1904 Lewis was elected City Counsel of Paterson. He resigned this position when Governor Franklin Murphy
Franklin Murphy (governor)
Franklin Murphy was an American Republican Party politician, who served as the 31st Governor of New Jersey, from 1902-1905. He was the founder of the Murphy Varnish Company in Newark, New Jersey.-Civil War Service:...
appointed him Clerk in Chancery (an office now known as Clerk of the Superior Court
New Jersey Superior Court
The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with state-wide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The Superior Court has three divisions: the Appellate Division is essentially an intermediate appellate court while the Law and Chancery Divisions function as trial courts...
). Lewis filled the vacancy left by Edward C. Stokes
Edward C. Stokes
Edward Casper Stokes was an American Republican Party politician, who served as the 32nd Governor of New Jersey, from 1905 to 1908.-Biography:...
, who resigned upon his inauguration as Governor. He was renominated by Stokes for a full term in 1905. Lewis left the position of Clerk in Chancery in 1909 when he was appointed by Governor John Franklin Fort
John Franklin Fort
John Franklin Fort was an American Republican Party politician, who served as the 33rd Governor of New Jersey, from 1908–1911. His uncle, George Franklin Fort, was a Democratic Governor of New Jersey from 1851–1854....
to be the State Commissioner of Banking and Insurance.
In 1910 Lewis was nominated to be the Republican candidate for Governor of New Jersey
Governor of New Jersey
The Office of the Governor of New Jersey is the executive branch for the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of Governor is an elected position, for which elected officials serve four year terms. While individual politicians may serve as many terms as they can be elected to, Governors cannot be...
, facing off against Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, then President of Princeton University
President of Princeton University
Princeton University is led by a President selected by the Board of Trustees. Until the accession of Woodrow Wilson, a political scientist, in 1902, they were all clergymen, as well as professors. President Tilghman is a biologist; her two predecessors were economists.-Presidents:# Reverend...
. Wilson ran a spirited campaign declaring his independence from machine politics, promising that party bosses would not control the state if he was elected. Lewis could reply only that he agreed with Wilson's position. Wilson soundly defeated Lewis in the general election by a margin of more than 49,000 votes, despite the fact that Republican William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
had carried New Jersey in the 1908 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1908
The United States presidential election of 1908 was held on November 3, 1908. Popular incumbent President Theodore Roosevelt, honoring a promise not to seek a third term, persuaded the Republican Party to nominate William Howard Taft, his close friend and Secretary of War, to become his successor...
by more than 80,000 votes.
In 1912 Lewis resigned from his position as Banking Commissioner to accept the judicial position of Vice Chancellorship from Chancellor Edwin Robert Walker. He was reappointed to this office in 1919, 1926, 1933 and 1940. He retired in 1947, when the powers of the Chancellor and Vice Chancellors were absorbed by the Superior Court
New Jersey Superior Court
The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with state-wide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The Superior Court has three divisions: the Appellate Division is essentially an intermediate appellate court while the Law and Chancery Divisions function as trial courts...
under the new State Constitution
New Jersey State Constitution
The Constitution of the State of New Jersey is the basic governing document of the State of New Jersey. In addition to three British Royal Charters issued for East Jersey, West Jersey and united New Jersey while they were still colonies, the state has been governed by three constitutions...
.
Lewis married Charlotte A. Jorgensen on September 27, 1916 and they had two sons, Henry C. and John C. Lewis. He died in 1950 in Paterson at the age of 80.