Sydney E. Mudd I
Sydney Emanuel Mudd I | |
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Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMaryland's5thdistrict | |
In office March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1911 | |
Preceded by | Barnes Compton |
Succeeded by | Thomas Parran Sr. |
Speakerof the Maryland House of Delegates | |
In office 1896 | |
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMaryland's5thdistrict | |
In office March 20, 1890 – March 3, 1891 | |
Preceded by | Charles Edward Coffin |
Succeeded by | Barnes Compton |
Member of theMaryland House of Delegates | |
In office 1879, 1881, 1896 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Charles County, Maryland | February 12, 1858
Died | October 21, 1911 Philadelphia,Pennsylvania | (aged 60)
Resting place | St. Ignatius’ Catholic Church Cemetery |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse |
Ida Griffin
(m.1882; died 1907) |
Children | 4, includingSydney Emanuel Mudd II |
Relatives | Samuel Mudd(uncle) |
Alma mater | |
Occupation | Politician |
Sydney Emanuel Mudd I(February 12, 1858 – October 21, 1911) was a politician, elected asSpeaker of the Maryland House of Delegates(1896) and as aRepublicanto theUnited States House of Representatives(1890–1891; 1897–1911), at a time of dominance byDemocratsin much of the state. He was first seated by Congress in 1890 after it found in his favor in relation to the contested 1888 election inMaryland's 5th congressional district,which was marked by fraud and intimidation.
Early life and education
[edit]Sydney Emanuel Mudd was born to Jeremiah T. Mudd on February 12, 1858.[1]He was born into the planter class at the family plantation,Gallant Green,inCharles County, Maryland,Mudd was reared Catholic and first educated locally. He was the nephew ofSamuel Mudd,the doctor that aidedJohn Wilkes Boothafter he assassinated PresidentAbraham Lincoln.[2]
He attendedGeorgetown Universityand graduated fromSt. John's CollegeofAnnapolis, Marylandin 1878.[1]He "read the law" as an apprentice with an established firm and also attended the law department of theUniversity of VirginiaatCharlottesville.He was admitted to the bar in 1880 and returned to Charles County to begin his practice.[1][2]
Marriage and family
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Mrs_Sydney_Emanuel_Mudd_I.jpg/220px-Mrs_Sydney_Emanuel_Mudd_I.jpg)
Mudd married Ida Griffin, the daughter of Walter Griffin of Surrattsville (now part ofClinton, Maryland), in 1882.[3]She died in 1907.[1]Together, they had four children, one daughter and three sons.[1]Among their children wasSydney Emanuel Mudd II,who became an attorney and politician like his father. The son was elected to several terms as a Congressman from Maryland's 5th district beginning in 1914, after his father's death.[4]
Career
[edit]Mudd was elected a member of theMaryland House of Delegatesin 1879 and 1881.[5]
As a Republican candidate, he challenged and successfully contested the 1888 election ofBarnes Comptonas US Representative from the5th districtto the Fifty-first Congress. At a time when many Maryland elections were surrounded by violence and fraud as Democrats sought to re-establishwhite supremacy,Mudd filed charges ofelection fraud.He claimed that election officials had turned away qualified voters and that, in Anne Arundel County, Democrats posing as US Marshals intimidated blacks, forcing them from the polls. TheHouse Committee on Electionsinvestigated and decided in his favor.[6]Congress awarded the seat to Mudd in 1889, and he served in the next session, from March 20, 1890, to March 3, 1891. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1890 to the Fifty-second Congress, defeated by Compton.[6]
In 1895 Mudd was elected again to the state House of Delegates, where he served as Speaker of the House. He moved to ruralLa Plata, Marylandin 1896. He served as a delegate to theRepublican National Conventionthe same year.[5]
In 1896 Mudd benefitted by the coattails of a winning Republican biracial coalition that gained the governorship.[7]He was elected from the 5th district to the Fifty-fifth and to the six succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1897 to March 3, 1911.[8](His chief Democratic rival in the district, Barnes Compton, died in 1898.[6]) In Congress, Mudd served as chairman of theCommittee on Expenditures in the Department of Justice(Sixtieth and Sixty-first Congresses).[5]
He was popularly known as "Marse Sydney" by his constituents.[2][9]
Death
[edit]Mudd died of a stroke inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvaniaon October 21, 1911.[1]He was interred inSt. Ignatius’ Catholic Church Cemeteryat Chapel Point near La Plata.[5]
References
[edit]- ^abcdef"Sydney E. Mudd Dead".The Washington Post.October 22, 1911. p. 14.RetrievedApril 9,2021– viaNewspapers.
- ^abc"Sydney E. Mudd Dead".The Baltimore Sun.October 22, 1911. p. 10.RetrievedApril 9,2021– viaNewspapers.
- ^"News Notes".The Baltimore Sun.March 7, 1882. p. 1.RetrievedApril 9,2021.
- ^"Mudd, Sydney Emanuel II",Maryland Biographical Dictionary,pp. 388-390
- ^abcd"Mudd, Sydney Emanuel",Maryland Biographical Dictionary,p. 388
- ^abc"Barnes Compton (1830-1898) Extended Biography".Annapolis, Maryland: Archives of Maryland (Biographical Series). 2008. MSA SC 3520-1545.
- ^STEPHEN TUCK, "Democratization and the Disfranchisement of African Americans in the US South during the Late 19th Century" (pdf),Spring 2013, reading for "Challenges of Democratization", by Brandon Kendhammer, Ohio University
- ^"S. Doc. 58-1 - Fifty-eighth Congress. (Extraordinary session -- beginning November 9, 1903.) Official Congressional Directory for the use of the United States Congress. Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing by A.J. Halford. Special edition. Corrections made to November 5, 1903".GovInfo.gov.U.S. Government Printing Office. November 9, 1903. p. 46.RetrievedJuly 2,2023.
- ^"Sydney Mudd Long in Congress Dies of Apoplexy Today".The Washington Times.October 21, 1911. p. 1.RetrievedApril 9,2021– viaNewspapers.
- United States Congress."Sydney E. Mudd I (id: M001059)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- "Mudd, Sydney Emanuel",Maryland Biographical Dictionary,p. 388
External links
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- 1858 births
- 1911 deaths
- Speakers of the Maryland House of Delegates
- Georgetown University alumni
- University of Virginia School of Law alumni
- St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe) alumni
- Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland
- People from Charles County, Maryland
- 19th-century American legislators
- 19th-century Maryland politicians