Charles Swindall (February 13, 1876 – June 19, 1939) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

from

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

Early life

Born at College Mound near

Terrell, Texas Terrell is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Kaufman County. As of the 2020 census, its population was 17,465. Terrell is located about east of Dallas. History Terrell developed as a railroad town, beginning in 1873 with the con ...

, Swindall attended the public schools and

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. He graduated from

Cumberland School of Law The Cumberland School of Law is an American Bar Association, ABA-accredited law school at Samford University in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1847 at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee and is the 11th oldest law sch ...

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1842. The oldest campus buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842–1861 The university was founded by the Cumberl ...

Lebanon, Tennessee Lebanon ( ) is the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,431 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in Middle Tennessee, approximately east of downtown Nashville. Lebanon is part of the Nashville Metro ...

, in 1897.

Career

Charles Swindall was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in

Woodward, Oklahoma Woodward is a city in and the county seat of Woodward County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the largest city in a nine-county area. The population was 12,133 at the time of the 2020 census. The area was historically occupied by the Kiowa, C ...

. Swindall was the prosecuting attorney of Day (later Ellis) County 1898–1900. In 1900, he returned to Woodward to continue his law practice, working primarily with the Texas Cattle Raisers Association on cattle rustling cases, achieving 33 convictions.

Congressional Service

In the 1916 Republican National Convention, Swindall served as an Oklahoma delegate. He was a member of the Oklahoma State Republican Committee from 1919 to 1929. Swindall was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-sixth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Dick T. Morgan, and served from November 2, 1920, to March 3, 1921, serving on the Public Land Committee. Following his unsuccessful bid for renomination to the Sixty-seventh Congress, he returned to his practice in

Judicial Service

He was appointed April 26, 1924, judge of the twentieth judicial district of Oklahoma. Swindall holds the title of the first Oklahoma judge to give a death sentence for committing a robbery with firearms. However, the defendant's sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment. He served as a justice of the

Oklahoma Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Oklahoma is a court of appeal for non-criminal cases, one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and leads the judiciary of Oklahoma, the judicial branch of the government of Oklahoma.

from 1929 to 1934. Swindall refused to be partisan in his nominees, preferring to judge candidates on their qualifications, not their loyalty to a particular party. Wanting Swindall to only support Republicans, the Oklahoma State Election Board refused Swindall's renomination to his post. Swindall sued the Board and was victorious in his suit, but did not win re-election. Following his judicial appointments, he resumed the practice of law in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

Personal life and death

In 1911 Charles Swindall and Emma Endres were wed. Charles Swindall died of a heart attack on June 19, 1939, in Oklahoma City, and was interred in Memorial Park Cemetery.

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swindall, Charles 1876 births 1939 deaths People from Woodward, Oklahoma Justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court County judges in Oklahoma Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma People from Kaufman County, Texas People from Terrell, Texas 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives