Sawnie R. Aldredge Explained

Sawnie R. Aldredge
Order:	35th
Office:	Mayor of Dallas
Term Start:	1921
Term End:	1923
Predecessor:	Frank W. Wozencraft
Successor:	Louis Blaylock
Birth Date:	13 November 1890
Birth Place:	Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Death Place:	Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Restingplace:	Hillcrest Mausoleum, Dallas, Texas
Spouse:	Mary Ellen Batts
Children:	2
Occupation:	Attorney
Party:	Democratic
Serviceyears:	1917–1919
Rank:	Second lieutenant
Unit:	Signal Corps
Battles:	World War I

Sawnie Robertson Aldredge (November 13, 1890 – May 13, 1949), attorney and judge, was mayor of Dallas from 1921 to 1923.

Biography

Aldredge was born November 13, 1890, in Dallas, Texas, to Judge George Nathan Aldredge and Betty Warren Hearne. He married Mary Ellen Batts, daughter of Judge Robert Lynn Batts and Harriet Fiquet Boak on January 14, 1915, in Austin, Texas. They had two children: Sawnie R. Aldredge Jr. and Mary Lynn Aldredge. Aldredge's niece, Gertrude Aldredge Shelburne, was an early women's rights and birth control activist in Dallas.^[1]

He attended Southwestern University, Cornell University and University of Texas School of Law. He was admitted to the Texas bar in 1914. He was associated with Thompson, Knight, Baker & Harris; Allen & Flanary, which eventually became Aldredge, Shults & Madden. During the First World War, he was stationed at Kelly Field, Texas, and St. Maixent Field, France.^{[2] [3]}

He ran for mayor with the support of the Citizens' Association, defeating William E. Talbot, nominee of the Democratic party and the Independent Voters' League.^[4] Trinity Heights was annexed to the city of Dallas during his administration. This was the largest single addition to the city since Oak Cliff was annexed in 1904.^[5] He sought to annex Highland Park to the city and to establish a municipal golf course. He did not run for a second term.^[6]

Sawnie R. Aldredge died May 13, 1949, in Dallas, Texas, and was interred at Hillcrest Mausoleum, Dallas, Texas.^{[2] [7] [8]}

Notes and References

1. Smith . Harold L. . 'All Good Things Start With the Women': The Origin of the Texas Birth Control Movement, 1933-1945 . Southwestern Historical Quarterly . 114 . 3 . 2011 . 253–285 . 2022-07-22 . 10.1353/swh.2011.0016. 21574284 . 29360093 .
2. . The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Volume 38. New York: James T. White & Co., 1953, p. 359
3. History of Texas World War Heroes. Dallas, Tex. : Army & Navy History Co. 1919, p.325
4. "Aldredge Elected Mayor of Dallas." The Dallas Morning News. April 6, 1921. p. 1
5. "Trinity Heights is Annexed to the City of Dallas." The Dallas Morning News. April 13, 1923, p. 13
6. "Mayor Has Plan for Municipal Golf Course." The Dallas Morning News. March 3, 1922, p. 10
7. Texas State Board of Health. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Standard Certificate of Death. No. 22242
8. "Sawnie R. Aldredge Former Mayor, Dies." The Dallas Morning News. May 14, 1949, p. 1