Theodore Clay Pilcher (March 20, 1844 – December 7, 1917) was an American Democratic politician who served as 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 ...

, representing the state's 11th district from 1916 until his death just under two years later. From 1891 to 1901, he represented

Fauquier County Fauquier County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,972. The county seat is Warrenton. Fauquier County is in Northern Virginia and is a part of the Washington metropolitan area. History ...

in the House of Delegates.

Early life and military service

Pilcher was born in

Warrenton, Virginia Warrenton is a town in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 10,057 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an increase from 9,611 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and 6,670 at ...

on March 20, 1844. He was the fourth and youngest child of Alexander Spottswood Pilcher, a farmer and Frances Pitt Pilcher (née Shumate). On February 5, 1863, at the age of eighteen, Pilcher enlisted in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

, wishing to fight in the ongoing

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 ...

. He served as a private with Company H of the 4th Virginia Cavalry Regiment, also known as the "Black Horse Cavalry," until the end of the war two years later.

Career

Pilcher first held political office in 1891 when he was elected as a Democrat to represent

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 ...

. After this, he represented his home county for four subsequent two-year terms. He succeeded his older brother,

Julius Julius may refer to: People * Julius (name), a masculine given name and surname (includes a list of people with the name) * Julius (nomen), the name of a Roman family (includes a list of Ancient Romans with the name) ** Julius Caesar (100– ...

, who served two terms in that position. In 1901, Pilcher retired to his farm, spending the next fourteen years mostly staying out of politics. In 1915, Pilcher reentered public life, making a run for the 11th district seat in the

Virginia state 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 ...

. He was successful, representing the district, which was then composed of Fauquier and

Loudoun Loudoun () is a parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland and lies between five and ten miles east of Kilmarnock. The parish roughly encompasses the northern half of the Upper-Irvine Valley and borders Galston parish, Galston Parish (which encompasses ...

, during the General Assembly's 1916 session. Pilcher died in his hometown on December 7, 1917. His replacement in the Senate, Lucien Keith was sworn in on the first day of the General Assembly's next session, January 10, 1918, and the body was later that day adjourned in his memory.

Personal life

Pilcher married Ada George on December 5, 1867. The couple had two sons, John and George. George's eldest son (also named Theodore Clay) represented Norfolk City in the House of Delegates from 1954 to 1965. Pilcher is buried in Midland Cemetery in Fauquier.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pilcher, Theodore C. 1844 births 1917 deaths People from Warrenton, Virginia Democratic Party Virginia state senators People of Virginia in the American Civil War 19th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly 20th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly