Charles B. Mitchell Explained

Office:Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives
Termstart2:January 1882
Successor2:William T. Houston
Predecessor2:W. L. Lorance
Successor4:C. R. Wharton
Predecessor4:J. L. Morphis
J. M. Burton
B. F. McWhorter
Termend4:1871
Termstart4:1870
Termend3:January 1896
Termstart3:January 1894
District3:Pontotoc County
State House3:Mississippi
Prior Term1:20th (1882–1886)
Termend2:January 1886
Termstart:January 1888
District1:31st
State Senate1:Mississippi
Termend1:March 3, 1899
Termstart1:January 1896
Death Place:Pontotoc, Mississippi, U.S.
Birth Place:Kentucky, U.S.
Birth Name:20 April 1842
Party:Democratic
Successor:James S. Madison
Predecessor:Jacob H. Sharp
Termend:January 1890
Alongside4:S. H. Wood
Children:10

Charles B. Mitchell (April 20, 1842 - March 3, 1899) was an American politician. He served in both houses of the Mississippi Legislature and was the Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1888 to 1890.

Biography

Charles B. Mitchell was born in Kentucky on April 20, 1842.[1] [2] He was the son of Dr. Charles G. Mitchell, a physician and plantation owner. In his youth, Charles B. Mitchell moved with his parents to Pontotoc County, Mississippi, where his father owned a plantation. Mitchell attended a college in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. When the Civil War began, Mitchell set aside his studies and enlisted in the Confederate Army. He was shortly discharged due to a physical disability, but later rejoined and served until the end of the war. After the Civil War ended, Mitchell returned to Pontotoc County, Mississippi, where he studied law under Colonel C. B. Fontaine and was admitted to the bar. He then set up a law practice in Pontotoc County.

Political career

Mitchell was elected to represent, and then represented, Pontotoc County in the Mississippi House of Representatives in the 1870 and 1871 sessions.[3] He was a presidential elector for Winfield Scott Hancock in the 1880 election. Mitchell then represented the 20th District in the Mississippi State Senate in the 1882 and 1884 sessions.[4] Twice in the 1880s, Mitchell unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives.[5] He was elected to the House again for the 1888 session, and served as its Speaker for that term. After being elected to fill a vacancy, he served in the House again in the 1894 session.[6] [7] He was re-elected to the Senate in 1895 to represent the 31st District for the 1896–1900 term.[8] This term was cut short by his death. At the time of his death, Mitchell was also serving on the board of trustees of Mississippi Industrial Institute and College.

Personal life and death

Mitchell was a member of the Baptist Church. His first wife was the former Virginia Dennis. They had seven children: Charles D., Jennie (Mitchell) Connelly, Mary (Mitchell) Morphis, Willie, George T., Annie (Mitchell) Gracy, and Fannie. After Virginia's death in 1884, Mitchell remarried to San White, with whom he had one child, Ida. Mitchell's third wife was Pauline (Bayinger) Patterson, with whom he had two children: Victor and Pauline. Mitchell died after a short illness on March 3, 1899, in Pontotoc, Mississippi.

References

  1. Web site: 1888 House · Mississippi State University Libraries . 2022-02-15 . msstate-exhibits.libraryhost.com.
  2. Book: Rowland, Dunbar . Mississippi: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form . 1907 . Southern Historical Publishing Association . 978-0-87152-221-4 . 582 . en.
  3. Book: Lowry . Robert . A History of Mississippi: From the Discovery of the Great River by Hernando DeSoto, Including the Earliest Settlement Made by the French Under Iberville, to the Death of Jefferson Davis . McCardle . William H. . 1891 . R.H. Henry & Company . 978-0-7884-4821-8 . 561 . en.
  4. Web site: 1884 Senate · Mississippi State University Libraries . 2022-05-04 . msstate-exhibits.libraryhost.com.
  5. News: 1899-03-09 . Clipped From Vicksburg Evening Post . 1 . Vicksburg Evening Post . 2022-05-04.
  6. Book: Rowland, Dunbar . The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi . 1917 . Department of Archives and History . 202, 252 . en.
  7. News: 1894-01-04 . Clipped From Weekly Clarion-Ledger . 2 . Weekly Clarion-Ledger . 2022-05-04.
  8. News: 1899-03-04 . Hon. C. B. Mitchell Dead . 1 . Clarion-Ledger . 2022-05-04.