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Politicians in Trouble or Disgrace

Politicians in Trouble or Disgrace: Mississippi

in chronological order

  Henry Stuart Foote (1804-1880) — also known as Henry S. Foote; "Hangman Foote" — of Tuscumbia, Colbert County, Ala.; Jackson, Hinds County, Miss.; San Francisco, Calif.; Nashville, Davidson County, Tenn. Born in Fauquier County, Va., February 28, 1804. Lawyer; co-founder of LaGrange College, which later became the University of North Alabama; fought four duels; fled Alabama in 1830 to escape prosecution for dueling; U.S. Senator from Mississippi, 1847-52; exchanged blows with Thomas Hart Benton on the floor of the U.S. Senate; Governor of Mississippi, 1852-54; Representative from Tennessee in the Confederate Congress, 1862-65; expelled from the Confederate Congress in early 1865 for going North on an unauthorized peace mission; delegate to Republican National Convention from Tennessee, 1876. Slaveowner. Died in Nashville, Davidson County, Tenn., May 19, 1880 (age 76 years, 81 days). Interment at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Nashville, Tenn.
  Relatives: Son of Richard Helm Foote and Helen Gibbon (Stuart) Foote; married, March 22, 1827, to Elizabeth Winters; married, June 15, 1859, to Rachel Douglas Boyd.
  The World War II Liberty ship SS Henry S. Foote (built 1943 at New Orleans, Louisiana; scrapped 1960) was named for him.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — National Governors Association biography — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Find-A-Grave memorial
  William McKendree Gwin (1805-1885) — also known as W. M. Gwin — of Mississippi; San Francisco, Calif. Born near Gallatin, Sumner County, Tenn., October 9, 1805. Democrat. Physician; U.S. Representative from Mississippi at-large, 1841-43; went to California for the 1849 Gold Rush; delegate to California state constitutional convention, 1849; U.S. Senator from California, 1850-55, 1857-61. Engaged in a duel with J. W. McCorkle, June 1, 1853; there were no injuries; twice arrested for alleged disloyalty during the Civil War. Slaveowner. Died in New York, New York County, N.Y., September 3, 1885 (age 79 years, 329 days). Entombed at Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, Calif.
  Relatives: Son of Rev. James Gwin.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Find-A-Grave memorial
Jefferson Davis Jefferson Finis Davis (1808-1889) — also known as Jefferson Davis — of Warrenton, Warren County, Miss.; Warren County, Miss. Born in a log cabin, Fairview, Christian County (now Todd County), Ky., June 3, 1808. Democrat. Served in the U.S. Army during the Black Hawk War; candidate for Mississippi state house of representatives, 1843; candidate for Presidential Elector for Mississippi; U.S. Representative from Mississippi at-large, 1845-46; served in the U.S. Army during the Mexican War; U.S. Senator from Mississippi, 1847-51, 1857-61; candidate for Governor of Mississippi, 1851; U.S. Secretary of War, 1853-57; President of the Confederacy, 1861-65. Captured by Union forces in May 1865 and imprisoned without trial for about two years. Slaveowner. Died of bronchitis and malaria in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, La., December 6, 1889 (age 81 years, 186 days). Original interment at Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans, La.; reinterment in 1893 at Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Va.; memorial monument at Memorial Avenue, Richmond, Va.
  Relatives: Son of Samuel Emory Davis and Jane (Cook) Davis; married, June 17, 1835, to Sarah Knox Taylor (daughter of Zachary Taylor and Margaret Taylor); married, February 25, 1845, to Varina Howell (granddaughter of Richard Howell); uncle of Mary Bradford (who married Richard Brodhead); granduncle of Jefferson Davis Brodhead and Frances Eileen Hutt (who married Thomas Edmund Dewey).
  Political families: Taylor-Brodhead family of Easton, Pennsylvania; Davis-Howell-Morgan-Agnew family of New Orleans and Shreveport, Louisiana (subsets of the Four Thousand Related Politicians).
  Cross-reference: Jesse D. Bright — John H. Reagan — Horace Greeley — Solomon Cohen — George W. Jones — Samuel A. Roberts — William T. Sutherlin — Victor Vifquain — Charles O'Conor
  Jeff Davis County, Ga., Jefferson Davis Parish, La., Jefferson Davis County, Miss. and Jeff Davis County, Tex. are named for him.
  The World War II Liberty ship SS Jefferson Davis (built 1942 at Mobile, Alabama; scrapped 1961) was named for him.
  Other politicians named for him: J. Davis BrodheadJefferson D. HostetterJefferson D. BlountJefferson Davis CarwileJeff DavisJefferson D. HelmsJefferson Davis WigginsJefferson Davis Parris
  Coins and currency: His portrait appeared on Confederate States 50 cent notes in 1861-64.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Books by Jefferson Davis: The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government (1881)
  Books about Jefferson Davis: William J. Cooper, Jr., Jefferson Davis, American : A Biography — Varina Davis, Jefferson Davis : Ex-President of the Confederate States of America : A Memoir by His Wife — William C. Davis, An Honorable Defeat: The Last Days of the Confederate Government — James Ronald Kennedy & Walter Donald Kennedy, Was Jefferson Davis Right? — Robert Penn Warren, Jefferson Davis Gets His Citizenship Back — Herman Hattaway & Richard E. Beringer, Jefferson Davis, Confederate President — Felicity Allen, Jefferson Davis: Unconquerable Heart — Clint Johnson, Pursuit: The Chase, Capture, Persecution, and Surprising Release of Confederate President Jefferson Davis
  Image source: Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, March 9, 1861
  John Jones Pettus (1813-1867) — also known as John J. Pettus — of Mississippi. Born in Wilson County, Tenn., October 9, 1813. Governor of Mississippi, 1854, 1859-63. Slaveowner. After the Civil War, as a Confederate leader, amnesty was refused to him, and he became a fugitive; the manhunt continued until his death, from pneumonia, in Pulaski County (part now in Lonoke County), Ark., January 25, 1867 (age 53 years, 108 days). Original interment in private or family graveyard; reinterment at Flat Bayou Burial Ground, Near Wabbaseka, Jefferson County, Ark.
  Relatives: Son of John Jones Pettus (1782-1822) and Alice Taylor (Winston) Pettus; brother of Edmund Winston Pettus; married to Permelia Virginia Winston; married 1861 to Virginia Hewell.
  See also National Governors Association biography — Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Charles Clark (1810-1877) — of Mississippi. Born February 19, 1810. Democrat. Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Mississippi, 1860; general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War; Governor of Mississippi, 1863-65. Physically removed from office by U.S. troops at the end of the Civil War, and imprisoned at Fort Pulaski, Savannah, Ga. Died in Bolivar County, Miss., December 18, 1877 (age 67 years, 302 days). Interment a private or family graveyard, Bolivar County, Miss.
  See also National Governors Association biography
  Benjamin Grubb Humphreys (1808-1882) — also known as Benjamin G. Humphreys — of Mississippi. Born in Claiborne County, Miss., August 26, 1808. Member of Mississippi state legislature, 1837; member of Mississippi state senate, 1839; general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War; Governor of Mississippi, 1865-68. During Reconstruction, he was physically ejected from the governor's office by an armed force under the orders of the U.S. military commander of Mississippi. Died in Leflore County, Miss., December 20, 1882 (age 74 years, 116 days). Interment at Wintergreen Cemetery, Port Gibson, Miss.
  Relatives: Married to Mildred Hickman Maury; father of Benjamin Grubb Humphreys (1865-1923).
  Political family: Humphreys family of Greenville, Mississippi.
  Humphreys County, Miss. is named for him.
  See also National Governors Association biography — Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Lee Maurice Russell (1875-1943) — also known as Lee M. Russell — of Oxford, Lafayette County, Miss. Born in Dallas, Lafayette County, Miss., November 16, 1875. Democrat. Alternate delegate to Democratic National Convention from Mississippi, 1912; Governor of Mississippi, 1920-24. Charged by a former stenographer with breach of promise and seduction; tried in federal court, where a jury found in his favor. Died May 16, 1943 (age 67 years, 181 days). Interment at Lakewood Memorial Park, Jackson, Miss.
  See also National Governors Association biography
  J. O. Stricklin (1872-1930) — of Yazoo City, Yazoo County, Miss. Born July 9, 1872. Mayor of Yazoo City, Miss., 1929-30; died in office 1930. Indicted by a Yazoo County grand jury in 1929 for stealing a cow; details of the case were printed in the Yazoo Sentinel newspaper, leading to a feud between Stricklin and the Sentinel's editor, Frank R. Birdsall; a year later, on Main Street in front of the Sentinel office, Stricklin was talking with Dr. R. E. Hawkins, his opponent in the last election, when Birdsall approached; Stricklin pulled out a pistol, shot Birdsall three times (he died the next day), and shot at, but missed, Dr. Hawkins; he then went to his son's funeral parlor, where he died by a self-inflicted gunshot, in Yazoo City, Yazoo County, Miss., April 1, 1930 (age 57 years, 266 days). Interment at Glenwood Cemetery, Yazoo City, Miss.
  See also Find-A-Grave memorial
  Theodore Gilmore Bilbo (1877-1947) — also known as Theodore G. Bilbo — of Poplarville, Pearl River County, Miss. Born near Poplarville, Pearl River County, Miss., October 13, 1877. Democrat. School teacher; lawyer; farmer; member of Mississippi state senate, 1908-12; Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi, 1912-16; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Mississippi, 1912 (alternate), 1916 (member, Committee on Permanent Organization), 1928, 1936, 1940, 1944; Governor of Mississippi, 1916-20, 1928-32; U.S. Senator from Mississippi, 1935-47; died in office 1947. Baptist. Scotch-Irish ancestry. Member, Freemasons; Knights Templar; Shriners; Elks; Odd Fellows; Ku Klux Klan. Author of the book Take Your Choice: Separation or Mongrelization, which advocated deportation of all Black Americans to Africa. During the 1946 campaign, in a radio address, he called on "every red-blooded Anglo-Saxon man in Mississippi to resort to any means to keep hundreds of Negroes from the polls in the July 2 primary. And if you don't know what that means, you are just not up to your persuasive measures." After he won re-election, the Senate, appalled at his racist views and tactics, refused to seat him, and started an investigation. Died, of mouth cancer, in a hospital at New Orleans, Orleans Parish, La., August 21, 1947 (age 69 years, 312 days). Interment at Juniper Grove Cemetery, Near Poplarville, Pearl River County, Miss.
  Relatives: Son of James Oliver Bilbo and Beedy (Wallace) Bilbo; married, May 25, 1898, to Lillian S. Herrington; married, January 27, 1903, to Linda R. Gaddy.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — National Governors Association biography — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier
  Clennon Washington King Jr. (c.1921-2000) — also known as Clennon King; "The Black Don Quixote" — of Miami, Miami-Dade County, Fla. Born about 1921. Minister; Independent Afro-American candidate for President of the United States, 1960; candidate for mayor of Miami, Fla., 1996. African ancestry. Attempted to enroll in the then-all-white University of Mississippi in 1958, and was sent to the state's insane asylum; attempted to join and integrate Jimmy Carter's all-white Baptist Church in Plains, Ga., on the eve of the 1976 presidential election. Jailed on numerous occasions for his flamboyant tactics. Died, of prostate cancer, in Miami, Miami-Dade County, Fla., February 12, 2000 (age about 79 years). Interment at Riverside Cemetery, Albany, Ga.
  Byron Mark Baer (1929-2007) — also known as Byron M. Baer — of Englewood, Bergen County, N.J. Born October 8, 1929. Democrat. Member of New Jersey state house of assembly, 1972-93 (District 13-B 1972-73, 37th District 1974-93); member of New Jersey state senate 37th District, 1994-2005; resigned 2005; delegate to Democratic National Convention from New Jersey, 1996, 2000. While working as a Freedom Rider, registering voters in Mississippi in 1961, was arrested and jailed for 45 days. Died, from complications of congestive heart failure, in an assisted living facility, Englewood, Bergen County, N.J., June 24, 2007 (age 77 years, 259 days). Cremated.
  Relatives: Married to Linda Pollitt.
  Cross-reference: June B. Montag
  See also Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial — OurCampaigns candidate detail
Fannie Lou Hamer Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977) — also known as Fannie Lou Townsend — Born in Montgomery County, Miss., October 6, 1917. Civil rights and voting rights activist; founder of Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party; in September 1962, in retaliation for her attempt to vote, she was shot at in a drive-by shooting; in 1963, along with other civil rights activists en route to a conference, she was arrested, and suffered an almost fatal beating by police; candidate for U.S. Senator from Mississippi, 1964; candidate for Mississippi state senate, 1971. Female. Baptist. African ancestry. Inducted, National Women's Hall of Fame, 1995. Died in Mound Bayou, Bolivar County, Miss., March 14, 1977 (age 59 years, 159 days). Interment at Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Garden, Ruleville, Miss.
  Relatives: Daughter of James Lee Townsend and Ella Townsend; married 1945 to Perry Hamer.
  Epitaph: "I am sick and tired of being sick and tired."
  See also Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Image source: Library of Congress
  Jon Clifton Hinson (1942-1995) — also known as Jon Hinson — of Mississippi. Born in Tylertown, Walthall County, Miss., March 16, 1942. Republican. U.S. Representative from Mississippi 4th District, 1979-81; resigned 1981. Gay. Resigned from Congress in 1981 after being arrested in a men's restroom and charged with oral sodomy. After leaving politics, became a gay rights activist. Died, from acquired immune deficiency syndrome, Silver Spring, Montgomery County, Md., July 21, 1995 (age 53 years, 127 days). Burial location unknown.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page
  Albert Michael Espy (b. 1953) — also known as Mike Espy — of Yazoo City, Yazoo County, Miss. Born in Yazoo City, Yazoo County, Miss., November 30, 1953. Democrat. U.S. Representative from Mississippi 2nd District, 1987-93; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Mississippi, 1988 (speaker); U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, 1993. African ancestry. Indicted August 27, 1997, on 30 criminal counts based on acceptance of gifts from organizations and individuals doing business with the Agriculture Department; acquitted December 2, 1998. Still living as of 2014.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — NNDB dossier
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