Emery John San Souci was an American merchant and politician from Rhode Island.
Background
San Souci was born in Saco, Maine, the son of Euzebe San Souci and Marie Louise (Couett) San Souci. His father was a member of the Army of the Potomac and was killed in battle in 1864. He left school to work so he could help his mother raise the family.
Education
San Succi attended school in Saint Albans until he was eleven.
Career
He served as Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island and as the 53rd Governor of Rhode Island. As a small child he moved with his family in 1860 to Saint Albans, Vermont. He worked as a clerk in Biddeford, Maine before working as a shoe clerk in Greenfield, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island.
In 1877, he moved to Hartford, Connecticut to work for a shoe making company.
The company became very successful, and he served as secretary and treasurer of the company. In 1908 he was appointed aide-de-camp to Governor Pothier, and served in that position for six years.
He was elected as a Republican Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island in 1914, and was reelected in 1916. He served as Lieutenant Governor from 1915-1921.
In 1921 he was elected Governor of Rhode Island, in large part due to the strong support of women voters.
1921 was the first year women were allowed to vote in state elections in Rhode Island. In 1923 President Harding appointed him Collector of the Portuguese of Providence. He also served as director of the Union Trust Company of Providence and as director of Saint Vincent de Paul Infant Asylum.
San Souci died at his home in Providence on August 10, 1936.
He is interred at Mount Saint Benedict Cemetery in Bloomfield, Connecticut.
Politics
San Souci held many political positions in Providence, and served on the Providence City Council from 1900-1907. He called in the state militia to handle the strike, and he lost the support of many in his party.