Benjamin Gates was a Vermont

Vermont

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

 attorney and politician who served as Vermont Auditor of Accounts

Vermont Auditor of Accounts

The Vermont State Auditor of Accounts is one of five constitutional officers in Vermont, elected statewide every two years. The Office provides an independent and objective assessment of Vermont's governmental operations....

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Early life

Gates was born in Pittsford, Vermont

Pittsford, Vermont

Pittsford is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The town was named for William Pitt. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 2,991. Pittsford was first settled as a frontier town in 1769, about north of Bennington...

 on August 6, 1873. He was raised in Sudbury

Sudbury, Vermont

Sudbury is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 560 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 3.15%, is water.-Demographics:...

 and educated at Brandon Grammar School and Montpelier Seminary.

Career

From 1893 to 1894 and 1901 to 1902 he studied at the Law Department of the University of Michigan

University of Michigan Law School

The University of Michigan Law School is the law school of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Founded in 1859, the school has an enrollment of about 1,200 students, most of whom are seeking Juris Doctor or Master of Laws degrees, although the school also offers a Doctor of Juridical...

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Gates joined Company A, 1st Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

 Volunteer Regiment for the Spanish-American War

Spanish-American War

The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...

, and served from May to October, 1898, first at Fort Knox in Waldo County, Maine

Waldo County, Maine

Waldo County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of 2010, the population was 38,786. Its county seat is Belfast.Waldo County was founded on 7 February 1827 from a portion of Hancock County...

, and then at Camp Alger

Camp Alger

Camp Alger, near Falls Church, Virginia, was established May 18, 1898, for the Spanish American War effort. It was approved by Secretary of War Russell A. Alger for whom it was named.-Location:...

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 near Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

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From 1899 to 1901 he was Deputy Clerk of the Washington County Court.

In 1903 Gates passed the bar and became an attorney in Montpelier

Montpelier, Vermont

Montpelier is a city in the U.S. state of Vermont that serves as the state capital and the shire town of Washington County. As the capital of Vermont, Montpelier is the site of the Vermont State House, seat of the legislative branch of Vermont government. The population was 7,855 at the 2010...

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A Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

, Gates served as Montpelier's Grand Juror from 1904 to 1906, and was Washington County

Washington County, Vermont

Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of 2010, the population was 59,534; Vermont's third-most populous county after Chittenden County and Rutland County. Its shire town is Montpelier, the state capital. The center of population of Vermont is located in Washington...

 State's Attorney from 1906 to 1910.

In 1912 Gates served as Assistant Clerk of the Vermont House of Representatives

Vermont House of Representatives

The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members. Vermont legislative districting divides representing districts into 66 single-member districts and 42 two-member...

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From 1916 to 1917 Gates served as Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs (chief assistant) to Governor Charles W. Gates

Charles W. Gates

Charles Winslow Gates was an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of the U.S. state of Vermont from 1915 to 1917.-Sources:*...

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In 1916 Gates was elected Vermont Auditor of Accounts. He won reelection every two years until 1938. Gates did not run for a thirteenth term in 1940, and served until the expiration of his final term in January, 1941.

Gates died in Montpelier on October 3, 1943.