Henry Clay Ide (September 18, 1844 – June 13, 1921) was a U.S. judge, colonial commissioner, ambassador, and Governor-General of the Philippines.
Biography
Early life, States Attorney, Senator, and Presidential Commissioner to Samoa
Ide was born in Barnet, Vermont, on September 18, 1844, a son of Jacob and Lodoiska (Knights) Ide. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1866, where he was named valedictorian. He studied law, first with Benjamin H. Steele, and later with Jonathan Ross, and was admitted to the bar in 1870. He practiced law in St. Johnsbury, Vermont from until 1891, and was the partner of Wendell Phillips Stafford. Among the prospective attorneys who studied law in their office was William H. Taylor, who later served as an Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court.
A Republican, Ide was State's Attorney for Caledonia County from 1876 to 1878. He was then a member of the Vermont State Senate from 1882 to 1885.
Ide returned to the islands in 1893 as Chief Justice, another position provided for by the Treaty of Berlin. He accepted the appointment in August, and sailed for the islands two months later. As Chief Justice, Ide presided over trials of both native Samoans and foreign nationals of the three Treaty of Berlin signatories. He also had the power to recommend criminal and taxation legislation to the government of Samoa.
Presidential Commissioner to the Philippines
thumb|right|Ide (at right) along with two fellow Philippine Commissioners [[Luke Edward Wright (left), and William Howard Taft (centre), in 1901]]
Ide was one of the Commissioners of the Taft Commission, appointed in 1900. Like the other Commissioners, he arrived in the Philippines in June of that year, and assumed official legislative power on September 1, 1900.
In 1901, Ide and the other commissioners gained executive power when they were appointed to the cabinet of territorial Governor William Howard Taft. Ide was appointed Secretary of Finance and Justice, and served until 1904. The issue Taft sought to solve was a conflict between the Commission members and the Federalistas. The Federalistas disagreed with and disliked both Wright and Ide. However, while they found Wright's Governor-Generalship outright offensive, they were happier with Ide's ten months in office. Hailing his resignation from office, La Democracia (as quoted in the September 5, 1906 Manila Times) praised Ide and his work, and stated that "in his social relations, Mr. Ide has reestablished the good times of Taft, which the latter's successor tried to make us forget".
During his time on Samoa, Ide became friends with Robert Louis Stevenson, who was heavily engaged in the politics of the region and a frequent commentator on Samoan affairs to the world at large. One day, Ide mentioned to Stevenson the feelings of his daughter Annie about having been born on Christmas Day and so having no birthday celebration separate from the family's Christmas celebrations. Stevenson drew up a formal deed of gift, properly sealed and witnessed as a legal document, and then published in the press, donating his birthday to Ide's daughter. The daughter and Stevenson corresponded further on the matter in November 1891, with Stevenson assuring her that "I am sure [your father] will tell you this is sound law." The affair was the root of a strong bond between the Ide and Stevenson families. In 1912, his daughter Marjorie married Shane Leslie, a first cousin of Winston Churchill.
Death
Ide died in St. Johnsbury, Vermont on 13 June 1921. His body was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in St. Johnsbury.
References
Further reading
- republished as:
- Leslie, Mrs. Shane - Girlhood in the Pacific Samoa-Philippines-Spain London MacDonald undated c.1943 The memoirs of Ide's daughter Marjorie.