Walter Kellogg Farnsworth (November 17, 1870 – August 2, 1929) was a Vermont attorney and politician who served as the 55th lieutenant governor of Vermont.
Life and career Farnsworth was born in Windsor, Vermont on November 17, 1870. He attended high school in Chester and Woodstock, and then studied law. He attained admission to the bar and established a practice in Rutland. Farnsworth was also a horse breeder and an active member of the Rutland County Agricultural Society.Manual of the Legislature of Vermont, published by Vermont General Assembly, 1904, p. 88Who's Who in New England, published by A. N. Marquis, Chicago, Volume 1, p. 351Newspaper article, Horse Shows to Aid Trotting Meetings, New York Times, November 12, 1908
A Republican, Farnsworth began his involvement in politics and government by serving as a Justice of the Peace and as Assistant Secretary and Secretary of the Vermont Senate in the late 1890s and early 1900s.Journal of the Senate of the State of Vermont, published by Vermont General Assembly, 1899, p. 6List of Secretaries of the Senate, published by Vermont Secretary of State, 2011
Farnsworth was Judge of the Rutland City Court from 1907 to 1909. In 1908 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for Secretary of State.The University of Vermont: The First Two Hundred Years, by Robert Vincent Daniels, 1991, p. 209Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography, compiled by Prentiss Cutler Dodge, 1912, pp. 185–186
In 1912 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for a seat in the United States House of Representatives. Vermont: The Green Mountain State, by Walter Hill Crockett, Volume 4, 1921, p. 430 Farnsworth also became involved with the Progressive Party, but later returned to the Republican fold.Newspaper article, Third Ticket in Vermont, New York Times, July 24, 1912
In 1918 he ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Vermont Secretary of State., Office of the Vermont Secretary of State, Vermont State Archives, June 9, 2006, p. 1Newspaper article, Clement Wins in Vermont Primaries, Boston Globe, September 11, 1918
Farnsworth subsequently moved to Burlington.Vermont Year Book, Formerly Walton's Register, published by E. P. & G. S. Walton, Montpelier, 1925, p. 371 He was elected to the Vermont Senate in 1922 and served one term, also serving as Senate President.Vermont Legislative Directory, published by Vermont General Assembly, 1923, p. 408, Office of the Vermont Secretary of State, Vermont State Archives, updated June 28, 2011, accessed December 26, 2011
In 1924 Farnsworth won election as Lieutenant Governor and served one term, 1925 to 1927., Office of the Vermont Secretary of State, Vermont State Archives, June 9, 2006, p. 1List of Lieutenant Governors, published by Office of the Vermont Secretary of State, Vermont State Archives, as of January, 2011
Farnsworth ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1926, losing the Republican primary to John E. Weeks., Office of the Vermont Secretary of State Vermont State Archives, June 9, 2006, p. 1The History of Woodstock, Vermont, 1890–1983, by Peter S. Jennison, 1985, p. 103Newspaper article, Official Vermont Vote Tabulated, by Associated Press, Bridgeport Telegram, September 22, 1926
Farnsworth died in Rutland on August 2, 1929.Vermont Death Records, 1909–2008, Record for Walter Kellogg Farnsworth, accessed December 26, 2011 He was interred at Ascutney Cemetery in Windsor, Vermont.
Family Farnsworth was the son of attorney Jonathan Brewer Farnsworth and Maria Augusta (Hatch) Farnsworth. Farnsworth's siblings included brothers George Henry (b. 1860), James Slayton (b. 1866), and Arthur White (b. 1872). Farnsworth never married, and had no children.
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