Sydney Parham Epes (August 20, 1865 – March 3, 1900) 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

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 ...

, serving briefly for parts of two terms at the end of the 19th century. He was the cousin of James F. Epes and

William Bacon Oliver William Bacon Oliver (May 23, 1867 – May 27, 1948) was a United States House of Representatives, Congressman from Alabama. He was born in Eutaw, Alabama, graduated from the University of Alabama in 1887 and from the law department in 1889. ...

Biography

Born near Nottoway Court House, Virginia, Epes moved with his parents to

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and settled near

Franklin, Kentucky Franklin is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Simpson County, Kentucky, United States. The county is located on the south central border of the state, and its population was 10,176 at the 2020 census. Kentucky Downs, formerl ...

, where he attended the public schools. He returned to Virginia in 1884 and edited and published a Democratic newspaper at

Blackstone, Virginia Blackstone, formerly named Blacks and Whites, and then Bellefonte, is a town in Nottoway County in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 3,621 at the 2010 census. History The settlement was founded as the village of "Blacks and Whites ...

Political career

He served as member of 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 ...

in 1891 and 1892. He served as register of the Virginia land office from 1895 to 1897, and presented credentials as a Member-elect to the Fifty-fifth Congress and served from March 4, 1897, until March 23, 1898, when he was succeeded by Robert T. Thorp, who contested the election.

Congress and death

Epes was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the Fifty-sixth Congress and served from March 4, 1899, until his death from

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and covering of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One pa ...

in Washington, D.C., March 3, 1900. He was interred in Lake View Cemetery, Blackstone, Virginia.

Elections

*1896; Epes was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 54.5% of the vote, defeating Republican Robert Taylor Thorp and Independent Republican J.L. Thorp; however, the election was invalidated and Robert Taylor Thorp was seated. *1898; Epes was elected again with 57.5% of the vote, defeating Republicans Thorp and Booker Ellis, ColR (?) Thomas L. Jones, and Independent J.H. Beran.

Sources

External links