George P. Wetmore

George Peabody Wetmore (August 2, 1846 – September 11, 1921) was an American politician who was the 37th governor of Rhode Island. He later served as a United States senator for the same state.

Early life

George Peabody Wetmore was born in London, England, during a visit of his parents, William Shepard Wetmore, a wealthy Yankee trader, and Anstiss Derby Rogers, abroad. After graduation, he studied for two years at the Columbia Law School. He received the degree of LL.B. in 1869, and was admitted to the bars of Rhode Island and New York the same year, although he never practiced.

Politics Wetmore had always taken an active interest in politics and in 1880 and 1884 was a presidential elector. He was elected Governor of Rhode Island in 1885 and served two terms, but was defeated for a third term. He was a member of the commission which oversaw construction of the new Rhode Island State House at Providence.

He had a deep interest in the building up of the Navy and the development of the naval base in Narragansett Bay. He served as chairman of the joint commission appointed by Congress to prepare plans for the completion of the United States Capitol in Washington; was chairman of the first Lincoln Memorial Commission and a member of the commission that erected the National Lincoln Memorial in Washington; and was a member of the Grant Memorial Commission, as well as many others for the erection of statues and memorials. He was greatly interested in the improvement and development of Washington and the District of Columbia on a definite artistic plan, and was particularly identified with the legislation creating the National Commission of Fine Arts. Her grandfather, Philip Doddridge Keteltas, was Yale 1792, her great-grandfather, Rev. Abraham Keteltas, was Yale 1752, and her great-great-grandfather, William Smith, was Yale 1719.

Edith Keteltas Wetmore's brother was Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Henry Keteltas who served in the American Civil War as a captain in the 15th United States Infantry. He was wounded and received two brevets (honorary promotions) for gallantry in action during the war. His sword is preserved and on display at the Chateau-sur-Mer mansion in Newport.

Mr. and Mrs. Wetmore, who were included in Ward McAllister's "Four Hundred", were the parents of four children, two sons who died and two daughters that lived together at the family's Newport estate until their deaths:

Edith Malvina Keteltas Wetmore (1870–1966), who was an "avid patron of the arts, a prominent collector of rare children’s books from around the world, gardener, and a well-known Newport socialite."