SKETCHES OF STATE OFFICERS. 215
State Treasurer: MURRAY VANDIVER, (Democrat) of Har-
ford County.
Mr. Murray Vandiver was born in 1845 at Havre de
Grace, Md. He is the son of the late Robert R. Vandiver, a
descendant of some of the first settlers of Delaware, He was
educated in the public schools of Harford County and Havre
de Grace Academy, and graduated from a business college in
Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in 1864. He early engaged in the
lumber business in Havre de Grace. He was elected a mem-
ber of the House of Delegates of Maryland of 1876, 1878, 1880,
and was Speaker of the House in 1892. He was a member of
the National Democratic Convention of 1892, which nomina-
ted Cleveland; of 1896, which nominated Bryan the first time,
and a delegate-at-large to the National Democratic Conven-
tion of 1900. From 1888 to 1893 he was secretary and treasurer
of the Democratic State Central Committee, and in 1897 became
chairman of the committee by appointment of Col. Buchanan
Schley. He was reappointed chairman of the committee by
Col. L. Victor Baughman in August, 1899, with the full con-
currence of the State convention. As chairman of the Demo-
cratic State Central Committee Mr. Vandiver conducted the
reorganization primary campaign in Baltimore City in the fall
of 1898, which resulted in the precinct organization in Balti-
more City of which Hon. James P. Gorter is the head. Mr.
Vandiver managed the State campaign in 1899, which restored
the democratic party to power in the State, as well as exer-
cised an influence in his advisory capacity in the municipal
campaign in Baltimore City in the spring of 1899, which
restored the democratic party to power in the city. From
July, 1893, to October 1, 1897, Mr. Vandiver was Collector of
Internal Revenue for the District of Maryland, District of
Columbia and Delaware and two counties in Virginia, being
appointed by President Cleveland and serving at the time of
the preparation for the collection of the income tax. On Jan-
uary 11, 1900, Mr. Vandiver was elected Treasurer of the
State of Maryland, receiving the entire vote of his party in
both Senate and House in open session and without a party
caucus. He is a director in the First National Bank of Havre
de Grace, Third National Bank of Baltimore, the Common-
wealth Bank of Baltimore and the American Bonding and
Trust Company of Baltimore, National Bank of Port Deposit,
a director in the Delaware Railroad and was one of the World's
Fair Commissioners for the State of Maryland appointed by
Governor Brown in 1892. He is a director in nearly all the
incorporated companies located at Havre de Grace, and was
Mayor of the city in 1885 and 1886. He wrote the charter
which incorporated Havre de Grace as a city in 1878.
|
|