Charles Lafayette Bartlett (January 31, 1853 – April 21, 1938) was an

American politician In the United States, politics functions within a framework of a constitutional federal democratic republic with a presidential system. The three distinct branches share powers: Congress, which forms the legislative branch, a bicameral legis ...

. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

from 1895 to 1915.

Early years and education

Bartlett was born in

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary residence and plantation of Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father, author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third president of the United States. Jefferson began designing Monticello after inheriting l ...

. He graduated in 1870 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

(UGA) in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. While at UGA, he was a member of the

Phi Kappa Literary Society The Phi Kappa Literary Society is a College literary societies (American), college literary society, located at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, and is one of the few active literary societies left in America. Originally founded in ...

. He then studied law at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

before graduating from the UGA School of Law with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree in 1872, gaining admission to the state bar, and beginning the practice of law in Monticello.

Political career

After moving to

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...

in 1875, Bartlett became the

solicitor general A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

for the Macon judicial circuit in 1877 and remained in that position until 1881. He was then elected to the

Georgia State House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. ...

from 1882 through 1885. Barlett served as city attorney of Macon from 1887 until 1892 while also serving in the

Georgia Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The Georgia State Senate and the lower house of the General Assembly, the Georgia House of Representatives, comprise the bicameral leg ...

in 1888 and 1889. In 1892, he became a Macon circuit superior court judge and served in that position until resigning in 1894 to successfully run for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, a position he held for nine more terms until deciding not to run for re-election in 1914.

Later years

After his congressional service, Bartlett returned to Macon to practice law and engage in banking. He died there in 1938 and was buried in its Rose Hill Cemetery.

References

''History of the University of Georgia'', Thomas Walter Reed, Imprint: Athens, Georgia : University of Georgia, ca. 1949, pp.900,937
1853 births 1938 deaths People from Monticello, Georgia Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives Democratic Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges University of Georgia alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Politicians from Macon, Georgia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) University of Georgia School of Law alumni 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly {{GeorgiaUS-state-judge-stub