Portrait from "Men of the South: A Work for the Newspaper Reference Library", 1922.
A leading name in New Orleans political circles in the early 20th century, Ethelred Macaulay Stafford was a lifelong Louisianan who, after time spent in the state militia and as a lawyer, was elected to the Louisiana state senate from Orleans Parish. A three-term member of that body, Stafford would serve as senate president pro tempore from 1916-20 and in 1921 was a delegate to the state constitutional convention held in Baton Rouge. Born in New Orleans on July 13, 1875, Ethelred Macaulay Stafford was the son of Ethelred R. and Mary (Burke) Stafford.
Receiving his unusual name from his father and his maternal grandmother's maiden name (Macaulay), Ethelred M. Stafford's early education was obtained in the public schools of New Orleans and in the late 1890s enrolled at Tulane University. Stafford would begin his law studies there, but, due to health concerns, he was forced to leave school and did not graduate. Despite these circumstances, Stafford later resumed private study and, in 1898, passed a law examination to gain admittance to the state bar.
Following the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine in Havana harbor in 1898 war was declared on Spain, and in short order Ethelred Stafford had enlisted for service in Battery B, Washington Artillery (Louisiana Volunteers), with which he would serve until the close of the war. After war's conclusion Stafford continued as a member of Co. K. of the Louisiana State Militia, attaining the rank of captain. In November 1900 Stafford married Eugenia Alice Tebault (1878-1948), to who he was wed until his death. The couple remained childless.
In the same year as his marriage, Ethelred Stafford became affiliated with Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railroad Co., where he was employed until 1907. 1900 would also see Stafford begin a ten-year connection with the New Orleans Fire Department, being a fire commissioner for the city's fourth district.
Stafford as he looked during his senate tenure.
Elected to the Louisiana State Senate in 1908, Stafford's first term extended until 1912 and during this session, he wrote the Uniform Warehouse Bill, legislation that made warehouse receipts subject to negotiation, "with the bill compelling purchasers at tax sales to give notice of their purchase to the former owner before the time for presumption to start the run for redemption." This term would also see Stafford sit on the following committees: Affairs of the City of New Orleans; Corporations, Parochial, and Municipal Affairs; Judiciary Committee B; Militia; and the Old Basin and the Carondelet Canal.
In 1912 Ethelred Stafford won reelection to the senate, and this four-year term saw Stafford's name attached to another important piece of legislation, the "Employe's Liability Bill", also referred to as the Stafford employer's liability bill. This bill passed into law, only after a similar bill had failed to be passed by the legislature over a two-decade period, and "did away with the assumption of risk on the part of an employe, and abolished the fellow servant problem."
Elected to his third and final Senate term in 1916, Stafford was elected as president pro tempore of the Senate that year and served until 1920. This term also saw Stafford aid in the ongoing war effort, as he served as a food administrator for New Orlean's first and second districts, was a member of the State Defense Board, and toured the state as a member of the "Four Minute Men", a speaking group who touted the ongoing war effort along with other patriotic propaganda. Further notoriety was accorded to Stafford late in this term when his name was proposed as a potential candidate for Louisiana Governor as a candidate of the Good Government League. In an August 1919 write-up in the St. Tammany Farmer, Stafford's time in politics was glowing reviewed, with attention being paid to:
"His strong stand in prohibition, his unyielding attitude in defiance of ring politics, his fealty to the people in attempting to secure a constitutional convention, and his dependable force of character had given him a warm place in the hearts of the people."
From the St. Tammany Farmer, August 9, 1919.
Unfortunately for Stafford, the prospects of his possible governorship were shortlived, as he later withdrew from the race in favor of Democrat John Milliken Parker, who would win the governorship the following year. Despite his gubernatorial hopes coming to naught, Stafford would further serve Louisiana in another political capacity, that of Orleans Parish delegate to the Louisiana Constitutional Convention of 1921. A distinguished club-man in New Orleans, Stafford was a longtime member of the Jefferson Lodge No. 191 of Free and Accepted Masons, the Elks and Moose Lodges, the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of the World, and the New Orleans Press Club.
Ethelred Macaulay Stafford continued to reside in New Orleans until his death, which occurred at his home in July 1932, aged 76. He was survived by his wife Eugenia, who, following her death in 1948, was interred alongside her husband at the Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans.
From the Biloxi Herald, July 13, 1932.
Portrait courtesy of the North Carolina State Archives.
On August 25, 2020, a chance peek at the North Carolina State Archives "Flickr" account yielded a portrait of a certain E.J. Holt, recorded by said webpage as having served as a state representative from Johnston County in session of 1879-80. A short while later the name of Etheldred James Holt was discovered via Findgrave, as well as an obituary for him in a December 1910 copy of the Smithfield Herald. A standout figure in 19th century Johnston County, Holt had served in the Confederate Army and held several local offices, including county sheriff, treasurer, county commissioner, and magistrate.
Born in the town of Boon Hill, North Carolina, Etheldred James Holt was the son of Jesse (1806-1844) and Penelope Holt (1813-1882). Left fatherless at a young age, Holt's education was largely obtained in the public schools of Johnston County, and briefly the Clayton Academy. During the Civil War Holt cast his lot with the Confederacy and enlisted with Co. A., 75th Reg, North Carolina Mounted Troops, becoming a First Lieutenant. The Smithfield Herald denotes Holt as "leading the last charge made at Appomattox" in April 1865, where he lost several men as well as his horse. Following the surrender of Gen. Lee Holt took charge of signing paroles for men in his brigade, totaling 95 in number.
After his return to Johnston County Holt found that his mother's property had been a casualty of the war, and after building a new home in Smithfield married to Sallie M. Cox. The couple were wed until Sallie's death in the early 1870s, whereafter Holt remarried in 1874 to Jane Gaston Sneed (1853-1928). The couple were wed for thirty-six years and would remain childless.
Having established himself in the hardware business in Smithfield in the early 1870s, Holt would accrue "considerable property" through the succeeding years and also turned his attention to local politics, serving at various times as a member of the Johnston Board of County Commissioners, Johnston County Treasurer, and magistrate in Smithfield and Boon Hill. In 1873 he was elected to his first term in the North Carolina House of Representatives and during the 1874-75 session was a member of the committee on Corporations. He would win a second term in 1878, and during the 1879-80 session again sat on the Corporations committee. This term also saw Holt have some oddly named company amongst his fellow legislators, serving alongside Durham representative Malbourne Addison Angier, profiled here back on April 17.
After leaving state government Holt continued to reside in Smithfield and held additional land in Boon Hill, the "Holt Mill property" having been in his family for over a century. In one of his last acts of political service, Holt held the office of mayor of Smithfield from 1906 to at least 1909. The last several months of Holt's life saw him in failing health, and he died at his Smithfield home on December 11, 1910, aged 71. He was survived by his wife Jane, who, following her death in 1928, was interred alongside him at the Riverside Cemetery in Smithfield.
From the Smithfield Herald, December 16, 1910.
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