Dow Hover
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Dow B. Hover (born ca. 1901, died June 1, 1990) was the last person to serve as a State Electrician (executioner) of the New York State, who operated electric chair and, to date, the last person to serve as an executioner in the now no-death penalty state.
Hover, a native and lifelong resident of Germantown, worked as a deputy sheriff for Columbia County.
When on August 5, 1953 a longtime state electrician Joseph P. Francel left his post after 14 years on service, Hover was hired to replace him, securing the job through his contacts at the Columbia County sheriff's office. He was 52-year old at that time and, like five of his predecessors, was a trained electrician. In addition to his work as a deputy sheriff, Hover would earn $150 every time he put on a suit, made the 160-mile round-trip to Sing Sing, and pulled the switch for the electric chair. (Adjusted for inflation, this $150 payment is equivalent to about $1,000 today.) Hover would also receive gas money, usually eight cents per mile.
Unlike his predecessor, whom name regularly appeared in the media, Hover kept his second job a secret. On the nights he drove to Sing Sing to carry out an execution, he changed the license plates on his car before he even left his garage. Hover was a well-known citizen of Germantown, because of his primary position.
In addition to many state executions, he performed under Governors Thomas E. Dewey, W. Averell Harriman and Nelson Rockefeller, he executed gangster Gerhardt Puff, a federal inmate.
He also performed two executions in New Jersey.
Hover was married since he was 20 and had two children.
