Elliot Woolfolk Major (October 20, 1864 – July 9, 1949) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician from

Pike County, Missouri Pike County is a county on the eastern border of the U.S. state of Missouri, bounded by the Mississippi River. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,516. Its county seat is Bowling Green. Its namesake was a city in middle Kentucky, a reg ...

Biography

Born in 1864 in

Lincoln County, Missouri Lincoln County is located in the eastern part of the U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over ...

, Elliot Major attended Lincoln County public schools. He then went to Watson Seminary in Pike County. After studying law, he was admitted to the bar in 1885. Major's political rise began with a seat in the

Missouri Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 174,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...

, which he held between 1897 and 1901. Between 1909 and 1913 he was

Attorney General of Missouri The Office of the Missouri Attorney General was created in 1806 when Missouri was part of the Louisiana Territory. Missouri's first Constitution in 1820 provided for an appointed attorney general, but since the 1865 Constitution, the Attorney Gen ...

. In November 1912 he was elected the new governor of his state. Major took up his new post on January 13, 1913. Several new agencies emerged in Missouri during his four-year tenure. These included the Highway Commission, a pardon committee, assistance to the blind, and a public services committee. In addition, the state

flag of Missouri The flag of Missouri, often referred to as the Missouri flag, is the state flag of the U.S. state of Missouri. It consists of three equal horizontal tribands of red, white, and blue stripes, with the arms of Missouri in the center. Designed by ...

was officially presented and introduced at that time. After his tenure ended in January 1917, Major retired from politics and returned to practice as a lawyer. His office was in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. Eliot Major died on July 9, 1949 in

Eureka, Missouri Eureka is a city located in St. Louis County, Missouri, St. Louis County, Missouri, United States, adjacent to the cities of Wildwood, Missouri, Wildwood and Pacific, Missouri, Pacific, along Interstate 44 in Missouri, Interstate 44. It is in ...

and was buried in the Bowling Green City Cemetery at

Bowling Green, Missouri Bowling Green is a city in Pike County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,334 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Pike County. History Bowling Green was settled in 1819, and designated county seat in 1824. Settled chiefly b ...

. He was married to Elizabeth Myers, with whom he had three children.

References

External links

* 1864 births 1949 deaths Democratic Party governors of Missouri Missouri Attorneys General People from St. Louis County, Missouri People from Lincoln County, Missouri {{Missouri-politician-stub