Background
Garret Augustus Hobart was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, on the Jersey Shore, and grew up in nearby Marlboro. He was born on June 3, 1844.
1899
New Jersey, United States
McKinley (left) and Hobart, photographed in Long Branch
1902
Cedar Lawn Cemetery, Paterson, New Jersey, United States
Mausoleum of Garret and Jennie Hobart
Garret Hobart at age 14
Hobart at his desk
Paterson, New Jersey, United States
Statue of Garret Hobart by Philip Martiny
Paterson lawyer Socrates Tuttle both taught Hobart the law and helped advance his political career.
Garret Augustus Hobart was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, on the Jersey Shore, and grew up in nearby Marlboro. He was born on June 3, 1844.
Garret initially attended his father's school in Long Branch. The Hobart family moved to Marlboro in the early 1850s, Garret was sent to the village school.
Recognizing Garret's abilities, his father sent him to a well-regarded school in Freehold, but after a disagreement with the teacher, the boy refused to return, he was sent to Middletown Point Academy, (later known as the Glenwood Institute) a prominent school in Matawan, New Jersey. He also boarded there during the week. He graduated from the academy in 1859 at age 15, but being thought by his parents too young to go to college, remained home for a year studying and working part-time.
During this time, he was a school teacher in the Bradvelt School which was the same school as his father's employment. Garret Hobart then enrolled in Rutgers College, from which he graduated in 1863 at age 19, finishing third in his class. He received his diploma from Theodore Frelinghuysen, New Jersey's first major-party vice-presidential candidate.
After graduation from Rutgers, Hobart worked briefly as a teacher to repay loans. Addison Hobart's childhood friend, lawyer Socrates Tuttle, offered to take Garret into his office to read law. Hobart supported himself during his time of study in Paterson by working as a bank clerk, he later became director of the same bank. Hobart was admitted to the bar as an attorney in 1866. He became a counsellor-at-law in 1871 and was made a master in chancery in 1872.
In 1866 Hobart was appointed grand jury clerk for Passaic County. When Tuttle became mayor of Paterson in 1871, he made Hobart city counsel. A year later, Hobart became counsel for the county Board of Chosen Freeholders. In 1872, Hobart ran as a Republican for the New Jersey General Assembly from Passaic County's third legislative district. He was easily elected, taking nearly two-thirds of the vote. The General Assembly was then elected annually and he was successful in winning re-election the following year, although his margin of victory was cut in half.
In 1874, still only age 30, he was voted Speaker of the Assembly. In 1876, Hobart was nominated for the New Jersey Senate seat for Passaic County. He was elected to a three-year term, and was re-elected in 1879. In 1881 and 1882, he served as President of the state Senate, becoming the first man to lead both houses of the legislature. In 1883, he was the Republican nominee in the election for United States Senate - until 1913, senators were elected by state legislatures. As the Democrats had more legislators, a Republican had no chance of election - the nomination was simply a way of honoring Hobart for his political service.
He was rarely seen in a courtroom. Hobart's real work was in advising corporations how to accomplish their aims, yet remain within the law. He also had a lucrative business acting as court-appointed receiver of bankrupt railroads. Hobart reorganized them, and restored them to fiscal health. He often invested heavily in them, his success made him wealthy. In addition to the railroads for which he acted as receiver, he served as president of the Paterson Railway Company, which ran the city's streetcars, and as a board member for other railroads.
As vice president, Hobart proved a popular figure in Washington and was a close adviser to McKinley. Hobart's tact and good humor were valuable to the President, as in mid-1899 when Secretary of War Russell Alger failed to understand that McKinley wanted him to leave office. Hobart invited Alger to his New Jersey summer home, and broke the news to the secretary, who submitted his resignation to McKinley on his return to Washington. Hobart died on November 21, 1899 of a heart disease at age 55, his place on the Republican ticket in 1900 was taken by New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt.
Garret Hobart worked well with others, and was noted for tact and charm.
Hobart fell in love with daughter of lawyer Socrates Tuttle. The two were married on July 21, 1869. The Hobarts had long been Democrats, Garret Hobart's marriage into the Republican Tuttle family converted him to that party The couple had four children, two of whom survived infancy. One daughter, Fannie, died in 1895, Hobart's son, Garret Jr. survived him.