Sydney Emanuel Mudd I (February 12, 1858 – October 21, 1911) was a politician, elected as

Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates The speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates presides as speaker over the House of Delegates in the state of Maryland in the United States. List of speakers See also * List of Maryland General Assemblies Footnotes References Mar ...

(1896) and as a Republican 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 ...

(1890–1891; 1897–1911), at a time of dominance by Democrats in much of the state. He was first seated by Congress in 1890 after it found in his favor in relation to the contested 1888 election in

Maryland's 5th congressional district Maryland's 5th congressional district comprises all of Charles, St. Mary's, and Calvert counties (a region known as Southern Maryland), as well as portions of Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties. The district is currently represented ...

, which was marked by fraud and intimidation.

Early life and education

Sydney Emanuel Mudd was born to Jeremiah T. Mudd on February 12, 1858. He was born into the planter class at the family plantation, ''Gallant Green'', in

Charles County, Maryland Charles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert (1637–1715), third Baron Baltimore. T ...

, Mudd was reared Catholic and first educated locally. He was the nephew of

Samuel Mudd Samuel Alexander Mudd Sr. (December 20, 1833 – January 10, 1883) was an American physician who was imprisoned for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth concerning the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Mudd worked as a doctor and tobacco far ...

, the doctor that aided

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, assassinated United States president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the p ...

after he assassinated President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

. He attended

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

and graduated from St. John's College of

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

in 1878. He "read the law" as an apprentice with an established firm and also attended the law department of the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the seat of government of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Quee ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1880 and returned to Charles County to begin his practice.

Marriage and family

Mudd married Ida Griffin, the daughter of Walter Griffin of Surrattsville (now part of

Clinton, Maryland Clinton is an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Clinton was formerly known as Surrattsville until after the time of the Civil War, and Robeystown from 1865 to 1878. The population o ...

), in 1882. She died in 1907. Together, they had four children, one daughter and three sons. Among their children was

Sydney Emanuel Mudd II Sydney Emanuel Mudd II (June 20, 1885 – October 11, 1924) was an American attorney and politician from Maryland's 5th congressional district, elected to several terms as a U.S. Representative in Congress, dying in office. He was a Republica ...

, who became an attorney and politician like his father. The son was elected to several terms as a Congressman from Maryland's 5th district beginning in 1914, after his father's death."Mudd, Sydney Emanuel II"
''Maryland Biographical Dictionary'', pp. 388-390

Career

Mudd was elected a member of the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

in 1879 and 1881. As a Republican candidate, he challenged and successfully contested the 1888 election of

Barnes Compton Barnes Compton (November 16, 1830 – December 2, 1898) was a Representative of the fifth congressional district of Maryland and a Treasurer of Maryland. Early life Barnes Compton was born on November 16, 1830, in Port Tobacco, Charles Count ...

as US Representative from the

5th district District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta * Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...

to the Fifty-first Congress. At a time when many Maryland elections were surrounded by violence and fraud as Democrats sought to re-establish

white supremacy White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

, Mudd filed charges of

election fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share o ...

. He claimed that election officials had turned away qualified voters and that, in Anne Arundel County, Democrats posing as US Marshals intimidated blacks, forcing them from the polls. The

House Committee on Elections The United States House Committee on Elections is a former standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Article 1, section 5, of the Constitution of the United States specifies: "Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, ...

investigated and decided in his favor. Congress awarded the seat to Mudd in 1889, and he served in the next session, from March 20, 1890, to March 3, 1891. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1890 to the Fifty-second Congress, defeated by Compton. In 1895 Mudd was elected again to the state House of Delegates, where he served as Speaker of the House. He moved to rural

La Plata, Maryland La Plata ( ) is a town in Charles County, Maryland, Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 10,159 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Charles County. History According to an unconfirmed loc ...

in 1896. He served as a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

the same year. In 1896 Mudd benefitted by the coattails of a winning Republican biracial coalition that gained the governorship.STEPHEN TUCK, "Democratization and the Disfranchisement of African Americans in the US South during the Late 19th Century" (pdf)
Spring 2013, reading for "Challenges of Democratization", by Brandon Kendhammer, Ohio University He was elected from the 5th district to the Fifty-fifth and to the six succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1897 to March 3, 1911. (His chief Democratic rival in the district, Barnes Compton, died in 1898.) In Congress, Mudd served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Justice (Sixtieth and Sixty-first Congresses). He was popularly known as "Marse Sydney" by his constituents.

Death

Mudd died of a stroke in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

on October 21, 1911. He was interred in St. Ignatius’ Catholic Church Cemetery at Chapel Point near La Plata."Mudd, Sydney Emanuel "
''Maryland Biographical Dictionary'', p. 388

References

"Mudd, Sydney Emanuel "
''Maryland Biographical Dictionary'', p. 388

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mudd, Sydney Emanuel 1858 births 1911 deaths Speakers of the Maryland House of Delegates Georgetown University alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe) alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland People from Charles County, Maryland 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly