Andrew Lee Todd Sr. (July 27, 1872 – March 24, 1945) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

lawyer, educator and Democratic member of the

Tennessee General Assembly The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title ...

Early life

Todd was born in the Rucker community of

Rutherford County, Tennessee Rutherford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in Middle Tennessee. As of the 2021 census, the population was 352,182, making it the fifth-most populous county in Tennessee. A study conducted by the Univers ...

to a local farmer, Aaron Wilson Todd, and his wife, Elizabeth (Prater) Todd, on July 27, 1872. He married his wife, Minneola Wilson, on July 3, 1895. They had two sons. He graduated from Union University (formerly Southwestern Baptist University) in Jackson, Tennessee in 1892, and was selected to become a member of the faculty. He taught at the university until June 1895. After marrying Minneola, he served as the principal of Wartrace high school as well as the Lexington Baptist College. He took a law course at

Sewanee Sewanee may refer to: * Sewanee, Tennessee * Sewanee: The University of the South * ''The Sewanee Review'', an American literary magazine established in 1892 * Sewanee Natural Bridge * Saint Andrews-Sewanee School See also * Suwanee (disambiguati ...

, and later at Cumberland University Law School. He graduated from Cumberland in 1901. In addition to being a charter member of the Murfreesboro Rotary Club in 1919, Todd held memberships in the

Masons Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cutt ...

, the

Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias is the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded ...

, Odd Fellows, and

Kappa Sigma fraternity Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraterniti ...

, as well as the Baptist church. He served as an alternate delegate for Tennessee at the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

in 1924.

Career

He was elected as Rutherford County Superintendent of Schools from 1900 to 1907 and Governor Frazier appointed him to the State Board of Education in 1905 where he continued to serve until 1915. As a member of the Board of Education he lobbied to locate the state's new teacher's college to Murfreesboro. The "Middle Tennessee State Teachers College" evolved into the present day Middle Tennessee State University. From 1913 to 1923, Todd served in the

, two terms in the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

and two terms in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. As Speaker of the Senate in the 61st General Assembly, and Speaker of the House in the 62nd General Assembly (1921-1923), he is the only person in Tennessee history to have served in both capacities. Apart from his political career, Todd was also an active businessman. He established the "Toddington Farms" which specialized in pure-bred

Aberdeen-Angus The Aberdeen Angus, sometimes simply Angus, is a Scottish breed of small beef cattle. It derives from cattle native to the counties of Aberdeen, Banff, Kincardine and Angus in north-eastern Scotland. In 2018 the breed accounted for over 17 ...

cattle. He often made large purchases of cattle. He practiced as an attorney in Murfreesboro for many years and developed many business interests there, including the Murfreesboro Home Journal (owner), the Murfreesboro Bank & Trust Co. (president, 1913-1929), and Murfreesboro Woolen Mills (shareholder). He was a financial correspondent for the Union Central Life Insurance Company and a farm loan correspondent for the New York Life Insurance Company. He purchased another local paper alongside the Murfreesboro Home Journal and merged them into The Daily News Journal.

Ratification of the 19th Amendment

Todd was Speaker of the Senate in 1920, when women's suffrage came up for the vote for ratification in Tennessee. Todd did vote in favor of the measure to support the amendment for women's suffrage, and the resolution passed the state Senate with a vote of 25 to 4 with 2

abstentions Abstention is a term in election procedure for when a participant in a vote either does not go to vote (on election day) or, in parliamentary procedure, is present during the vote, but does not cast a ballot. Abstention must be contrasted with ...

Legacy

Todd is sometimes referred to as the "godfather" of Middle Tennessee State University and he continued to support the school until his death. In 1958, a new library was constructed at a cost of $450,000. It was named the ''Andrew L Todd Library'' in his honor. During the late 1930s, Todd was involved with the construction of a dam across "Black Fox Camp Spring Creek", the resulting reservoir is now known as "Todd's Lake." He also attempted to establish the M. Davis Memorial Association August 21, 1920, alongside Eugene Holloway and George H. Armistead, to acquire the homestead of Sam Davis and his place of execution at Pulaski, Tennessee to establish "shrines."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Todd, Andrew L. Sr School board members in Tennessee Tennessee state senators Lieutenant governors of Tennessee Members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Speakers of the Tennessee House of Representatives People from Murfreesboro, Tennessee 1872 births 1945 deaths Businesspeople from Tennessee Editors of Tennessee newspapers Union University alumni Middle Tennessee State University 20th-century American politicians