Franklin Upshur (November 27, 1875 – August 16, 1965) was an American politician and lawyer. He served in the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

in 1924 and as

state's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

Worcester County, Maryland Worcester County is the easternmost county of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 52,460. Its county seat is Snow Hill. It is the only county of Maryland that borders the Atlantic Ocean, and the only county ...

from 1947 to 1951.

Early life

Franklin Upshur was born on November 27, 1875, in

Snow Hill, Maryland Snow Hill is a town and the county seat of Worcester County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,103 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Snow Hill was founded in 1 ...

to Emma (née Franklin) and George M. Upshur. His grandfather was

John Rankin Franklin John Rankin Franklin (May 6, 1820 – January 11, 1878) was a Congressional Representative for the U.S. state of Maryland. He also served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates in 1843 and as Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates ...

. He graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1897 and he graduated from the

University of Maryland School of Law The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (formerly University of Maryland School of Law) is the law school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is located in Baltimore City, Maryland, U.S. Its location places Maryland ...

in 1899.

Career

Around 1900, Upshur became an assistant state's attorney in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. By 1909, he was practicing law with his father in Snow Hill under the law firm ''Upshur and Upshur''. Upshur was 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 (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. Upshur served in the

in 1924. In 1933, Upshur worked for the Worcester County Public Schools. In 1926, Upshur ran against

Thomas Alan Goldsborough Thomas Alan Goldsborough (September 16, 1877 – June 16, 1951) was a United States representative from Maryland and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Education and career Born in G ...

for a seat in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

. He ran to modify or repeal the

Volstead Act The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act, was an act of the 66th United States Congress, designed to carry out the intent of the 18th Amendment (ratified January 1919), which established the prohibition of alcoholic d ...

and advocated for a tariff on tomatoes. Goldsborough defeated Upshur in the Democratic primary. Upshur served as

from 1947 to 1951.

Personal life

Upshur married Ethelyn Wilson, daughter of

Ephraim King Wilson II Ephraim King Wilson II (December 22, 1821February 24, 1891) the son of Ephraim King Wilson, was a United States House of Representatives, Congressional Representative and a United States Senate, Senator from Maryland. Biography Ephraim King Wil ...

, of Baltimore on June 23, 1909. She died in 1957. He had one daughter, Ann. Upshur died on August 16, 1965, at Spring Hill Sanitarium in

Salisbury, Maryland Salisbury () is a city in and the county seat of Wicomico County, Maryland, Wicomico County, Maryland, United States, and the largest city in Eastern Shore of Maryland, the state's Eastern Shore region. The population was 33,050 at the 2020 United ...

. He was buried at Makemie Memorial Presbyterian Church in Snow Hill.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Upshur, Franklin 1875 births 1965 deaths Princeton University alumni University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law alumni People from Snow Hill, Maryland 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates State's attorneys in Maryland