William Larrabee

William Larrabee (January 20, 1832 – November 16, 1912) was an American Republican politician from Iowa. He served as the 13th governor of Iowa from 1886 until 1890.

Early life Larrabee was born in Ledyard, Connecticut, to Adam Larrabee (1787–1869), was a West Point graduate and an accomplished soldier, who served with distinction in the War of 1812 and his mother was Hannah (née Lester). The Larrabees had seven children: Charles, Augusta, Julia, Anna, William Jr. (Iowa State Representative), Frederic (Iowa State Senator) and Helen. Julia married Don Lathrop Love, future Republican mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska. Helen married Charles Burton Robbins, a future United States Assistant Secretary of War.

Larrabee had a large library and was fond of reading. He also experimented with fruit growing and liked to travel, at one point spending several months in Europe and Palestine in 1873. He and Anna employed French student Mathilde Laigle as a governess from 1895 to 1903. She was their daughter's companion and teacher and she would spend whole days with them when the only language to be spoken was French.

Larrabee was a Methodist.

Larrabee died on November 16, 1912, and was buried at God's Acre Cemetery in Clermont alongside his wife.