R. R. Sneed (November 21, 1875 - June 14, 1947) was an American politician. He served as the

Tennessee Secretary of State The Tennessee Secretary of State is an office created by the Tennessee State Constitution. The Secretary of State is responsible for many of the administrative aspects of the operation of the state government of Tennessee. The current Secretar ...

from 1913 to 1917.

Early life

R. R. Sneed was born on November 21, 1875, in

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis and 130 Miles Southwest of Nashville, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population wa ...

. His father, Colonel Richard A. Sneed, was a Confederate veteran who co-founded the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

chapter of Madison County after the war and later served as the

Oklahoma Secretary of State The Secretary of State of the State of Oklahoma is the chief clerical officer of Oklahoma and a member of the Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet. The Secretary of State is the only appointed constitutional member of the separation of powers, executive b ...

and the

Oklahoma State Treasurer The State Treasurer of Oklahoma is the chief custodian of Oklahoma's cash deposits, monies from bond sales, and other securities and collateral and directs the investments of those assets. The treasurer provides for the safe and efficient operati ...

. His mother was Annie R. Bullock. His maternal uncle, Ernest L. Bullock, was a judge. Sneed grew up in Oklahoma, and he was educated in Texas: first in

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

and then Gainesville. He graduated from

Union University Union University is a private Baptist university in Jackson, Tennessee, with additional campuses in Germantown and Hendersonville. The university is affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). It was estab ...

Career

Sneed began his career as a lawyer by working for his uncle Bullock in 1898, and he worked as a lawyer in Jackson. Sneed served as a member of the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

. From 1913 to 1917, he was the Tennessee Secretary of State. Sneed resumed legal practise 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 ...

. Later, he co-founded a legal firm in Jackson with his uncle one of his cousins, Thomas McCorry, known as Bullock, McCorry & Sneed. From 1928 to 1947, Sneed was a clerk and master of the chancery court of Madison County. According to ''

The Jackson Sun ''The Jackson Sun'' is a daily newspaper published in Jackson, Tennessee, and is one of western Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeast ...

'', he was "one of the best known public men in Tennessee."

Personal life and death

Sneed married Rebecca Perkins. They had a daughter. Sneed was a Methodist. He was a member of the Jackson Lodge of Elks, No. 192. Sneed died on June 14, 1947, in Jackson, Tennessee. He was buried at the Hollywood Cemetery in Jackson. His widow died in 1961.

References

1875 births 1947 deaths People from Jackson, Tennessee Union University alumni Secretaries of state of Tennessee Members of the Tennessee House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Tennessee General Assembly {{Tennessee-politician-stub