Lewis McKenzie (October 7, 1810 – June 28, 1895) was a nineteenth-century politician, merchant and railroad president 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 ...

Biography

Born in Alexandria, District of Columbia, McKenzie pursued an academic course as a young adult and prominently engaged in shipping and

mercantile Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cred ...

pursuits, founding and becoming president of the

Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad (colloquially referred to as the W&OD) was an intrastate short-line railroad located in Northern Virginia, United States. The railroad was a successor to the bankrupt Washington and Old Dominion Railway ...

. He was also president of the First National Bank. He was civically minded and began his political career as a Whig and was a member of the Alexandria County common council from 1843-1850 during which time he instigated the final push for retrocession in 1846. He was a member of the city council of Alexandria from 1855 to 1859; and was acting mayor of the city from 1861 to 1863. At various times he was the presiding justice of the magistrate court and a Brigadier General of the town's militia. McKenzie was elected a Unionist to 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 ...

to fill a vacancy in 1863, serving from February to March of that year and afterward returned to the Alexandria city council, serving again until 1866 and returning a third time in 1868, serving again until 1870. He returned to the House as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

in 1869, serving from 1870 to 1871. In 1870 he ran as the Republican candidate and lost. In 1874 he ran for the state senate and lost. He was appointed postmaster of Alexandria in 1878. McKenzie returned to the city council for the last time in 1887, serving until 1891. He died in Alexandria on June 28, 1895, and was interred there in Presbyterian Cemetery.

Election of 1869

McKenzie was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives unopposed.

References

External links

Retrieved on 2009-5-13
Lewis McKenzie
at Find A Grave 1810 births 1895 deaths Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia Mayors of Alexandria, Virginia Virginia city council members People of Virginia in the American Civil War Virginia postmasters Conservative Party of Virginia members of the United States House of Representatives Virginia Unionists Unionist Party members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century mayors of places in Virginia 19th-century Virginia politicians 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives {{Virginia-mayor-stub