Frank Charles Partridge | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Senator from Vermont | |
| In office December 23, 1930 – March 31, 1931 | |
| Appointed by | John E. Weeks |
| Preceded by | Frank L. Greene |
| Succeeded by | Warren Austin |
| Member of the Vermont Senate from Rutland County | |
| In office 1898–1900 Serving with Frederick S. Platt Silas L. Griffith Jesse E. Thomson | |
| Preceded by | Frederick H. Farrington Hiram L. Manchester George T. Chaffee Rodney M. Lewis |
| Succeeded by | James H. Aiken Philip R. Leavenworth Percival W. Clement Elwin O. Aldrich |
| U.S. Consul in Tangier, Morocco | |
| In office 1897–1898 | |
| Preceded by | David N. Burke |
| Succeeded by | Samuel R. Gummere |
| United States Minister to Venezuela | |
| In office March 4, 1893 – January 9, 1894 | |
| Preceded by | William L. Scruggs |
| Succeeded by | Seneca Haselton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 7, 1861 East Middlebury, Vermont, U.S. |
| Died | March 2, 1943 (aged 81) Proctor, Vermont, U.S. |
| Resting place | South Street Cemetery, Proctor, Vermont |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Sarah Sanborn (m. May 7, 1907) |
| Children | 5 |
| Education | Amherst College Columbia Law School |
| Profession | Lawyer Business executive |
Frank C. Partridge (May 7, 1861 – March 2, 1943) was an American attorney, diplomat, and business executive from Vermont. A Republican, he served briefly in the United States Senate, appointed to fill the vacancy left by the death of Frank L. Greene.
A native of East Middlebury, Vermont, Partridge was educated in Middlebury, attended Middlebury College, and graduated from Amherst College (1882) and Columbia Law School (1884). Proctor practiced law in Rutland before becoming active in the Vermont Marble Company and associated politically with the company's owners, the Redfield Proctor family. Partridge advanced up Vermont Marble's ranks beginning in the mid-1880s, and served successively as treasurer, vice president, president, and chairman of the board. In addition, he was affiliated with other Proctor businesses, including the Proctor Trust Company and the Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad.
Partridge held local offices in Proctor, including town clerk and school board member. When Redfield Proctor served as Secretary of War from 1889 to 1890, Partridge served as his private secretary. Partridge's connection to a powerful cabinet member who later served in the U.S. Senate led to several appointments, including Solicitor of the Department of State from 1890 to 1893, United States Ambassador to Venezuela from 1893 to 1894, and U.S. Consul in Tangier, Morocco from 1897 to 1898. From 1898 to 1900, Partridge served in the Vermont Senate.
As a prominent business leader and former diplomat, Partridge developed "senior statesman" status that led to service on various boards and commissions, in the 1910s and 1920s, including the state public safety committee that managed Vermont's participation in World War I and the public corporation that aided in Vermont's recovery following the Great Flood of 1927. In December 1930, Governor John E. Weeks appointed Partridge to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy created by the death of Frank Greene. Partridge lost the Republican nomination to Warren Austin in the March 1931 primary, and in overwhelmingly Republican Vermont, Austin easily defeated Democrat Stephen M. Driscoll in the general election. Partridge retired in 1935, and resided in Proctor. He died there on March 2, 1943, and was interred at South Street Cemetery in Proctor.