Obadiah Gardner

Obadiah Gardner (* September 13, 1852 in Port Huron, Michigan, † July 24, 1938 in Augusta, Maine ) was an American politician (Democratic Party), who represented the state of Maine in the U.S. Senate.

Born in Michigan Obadiah Gardner moved with his parents in 1864 to Maine, where the family settled in Union. In this place, he attended the public schools, before he continued his education at study facilities in Poughkeepsie and Waterville. After graduating, he worked in agriculture. Among other things, he acted with timber and lime; but he was also active in animal husbandry.

Later, Gardner Member of the Committee on Agriculture of Maine and President (Master ) of the Maine State Grange. This was the division of the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry in his state, a cooperative organization of American farmers. In 1908 he applied then to the Office of the Governor of Maine, but he was defeated by Republican Bert M. Fernald.

In 1911 he was appointed Chairman of the Board of State Assessors, but this post put Gardner down after he had been appointed to succeed the late William P. Frye for U.S. Senator. He took his seat in Washington from September 23, 1911, after unsuccessfully applied to the re-election and therefore had to resign from the Senate again on March 3, 1913. After this defeat, he became a member of the International Joint Commission, which had the mandate to resolve any discrepancies between the United States and Canada on the use of the shared boundary waters. Later he had there chaired the U.S. delegation, until he retired in 1923.