Mitchell Cary Alford (July 10, 1855 – December 9, 1914) was the 25th
Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky.
Early life
Mitchell Alford was born in
Fayette County, Kentucky on July 10, 1856.
[''Biographical Cyclopedia'', p. 171] He enrolled at Kentucky University (now
Transylvania University
Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...
), and graduated in 1877.
He began studying law the following year, and earned a law degree with honors at Kentucky University in 1879.
After graduation, he formed the law firm of Alford and Smith with
Zachariah Frederick Smith, a college classmate.
Political career
Two years after being
admitted to the bar
An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...
, he was appointed master commissioner of Fayette County.
[''Biographical Cyclopedia'', p. 172] At the expiration of his four-year term, he was elected judge of the recorder's court in
Lexington, Kentucky.
He served a two-year term and was re-elected to a second term, but resigned in order to run for a seat in the
Kentucky Senate.
Alford was elected to the Senate, representing the Lexington district.
At the time of his election, he was the youngest member of the state senate.
During the first session of his four-year term, he chaired the Senate Committee on Appropriations; during the second session, he chaired the Committee on Railroads.
At the 1891
Democratic nominating convention, Alford was nominated for the office of
lieutenant governor without opposition.
He was elected on a gubernatorial ticket with
John Y. Brown.
Following his four-year term, he was one of several Democratic candidates that sought to succeed Brown, but was unsuccessful in this endeavor due in part to his
sound money
In macroeconomics, hard currency, safe-haven currency, or strong currency is any globally traded currency that serves as a reliable and stable store of value. Factors contributing to a currency's ''hard'' status might include the stability and ...
stance during the party's split over
Free Silver.
Later life
Following the end of his term as lieutenant governor, Alford served several years as the chair of the state Democratic Central Committee.
He was also president of the State League of Democratic Clubs.
He helped organize the First National Bank of
Middlesboro, Kentucky
Middlesboro ()Rennick, Robert. ''Kentucky Place Names'', University Press of Kentucky (Lexington), 1987p. 196 Accessed 26 August 2013. is a home rule-class city in Bell County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 10,334 at the 2010 U.S ...
and was chosen its first president.
He was a major stockholder in the
Phoenix Hotel in Lexington, and eventually became its treasurer.
External links
The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Alexandre to Allemanat politicalgraveyard.com
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Alford, Mitchell Cary
Lieutenant Governors of Kentucky
1855 births
1914 deaths
Democratic Party Kentucky state senators
Transylvania University alumni
People from Fayette County, Kentucky
19th-century American politicians