Edgar Snowden Sr. (December 21, 1810 – September 24, 1875) was an American newspaperman and politician from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

who served as mayor of Alexandria, D.C. and represented Alexandria in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

Early life and family

Edgar Snowden was born on December 21, 1810. Snowden attended law school and briefly worked as an attorney. He married Louisa Grymes (1814 –1897) and they had eleven children, including Edgar Snowden Jr., a member of the

Virginia Senate The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

Political career

Snowden was active in local politics in Alexandria, and served on the city's Common Council for five years. From 1840 to 1843, Snowden served as mayor of Alexandria. During his time as mayor, he advocated for the retrocession of Alexandria to Virginia, which was approved in 1846. After the retrocession of the City of Alexandria and

Alexandria County Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the national capital. Arlington ...

back to

, Snowden served several terms as Alexandria's representative in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1846 to 1853. In 1850, Snowden was elected to serve as a representative to the Virginia Constitutional Convention. Snowden was pro-slavery and threatened

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

publishers

William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was an Abolitionism in the United States, American abolitionist, journalist, and reformism (historical), social reformer. He is best known for his widely read anti-slavery newspaper ''The ...

and

Arthur Tappan Arthur Tappan (May 22, 1786 – July 23, 1865) was an American businessman, philanthropist and abolitionist. He was the brother of Ohio Senator Benjamin Tappan and abolitionist Lewis Tappan, and nephew of Harvard Divinity School theologian ...

with lynching should they visit Alexandria. In 1853, Snowden was the Whig party nominee for the

U.S. House of Representatives 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 ...

for

Virginia's 7th congressional district Virginia's seventh congressional district is a United States congressional district in the U.S. state, Commonwealth of Virginia. The district encompasses a vast swath of Northern Virginia, Northern and Greater Richmond Region, Central Virginia ...

, but was defeated by William "Extra-Billy" Smith. In 1857, Snowden ran unsuccessfully for

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The Governor (United States), governor is head of the Government_of_Virginia#Executive_branch, executive branch ...

against incumbent Extra-Billy Smith.

Publisher

After his father's Samuel Snowden's death, Snowden took over the role of publisher and editor of his newspaper, the ''

Alexandria Gazette The '' Alexandria Gazette'' was a succession of newspapers based in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. The newspaper offers an important source of information for events in Alexandria, particularly in the nineteenth century. The newspaper served ...

''. The newspaper served as the dominant newspaper in Alexandria during the period, and advanced the views of the Whig Party. In addition to printing the ''Gazette'', Snowden ran a printing office business. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Snowden used his periodical, ''The Local News,'' to promote the cause of the

Confederacy A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

. As such, his newspaper became a target for attacks during the war. His printing plant was seized by Union officers, property was demolished and looted, and the building was destroyed in a fire and later rebuilt. In 1864, Snowden was arrested by military authorities and detained for a brief period. Snowden's other business holdings included the Fauquier and Alexandria Turnpike Company and the Alexandria Canal.

Death

Snowden died on September 24, 1875, at the age of 64. He is buried at the Trinity United Methodist Church cemetery in Alexandria.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snowden, Edgar 1810 births 1875 deaths 19th-century mayors of places in the District of Columbia Mayors of Alexandria, D.C. People from colonial Virginia Lawyers from Alexandria, Virginia 19th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly