George William Croft (December 20, 1846 – March 10, 1904) was a
U.S. Representative
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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
from
South Carolina, father of
Theodore Gaillard Croft.
Born in
Newberry County, South Carolina, Croft attended the common schools in
Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway be ...
. He entered the
South Carolina Military Academy at Charleston in 1863. Along with all the other cadets at the Citadel, he was mustered into the
Confederate States Army in 1864 and served until the close of the
Civil War.
He attended the
University of Virginia at Charlottesville in 1866 and 1867, where he studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1869 and commenced practice in
Aiken, South Carolina, in 1870. He served as president of the State bar association.
He served as member of the
State House of Representatives from 1882–1883 and 1901–1902. He served in the
State Senate in 1880.
Croft was elected as 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 ...
to the Fifty-eighth Congress and served from March 4, 1903, until his death from a splinter
[SPLINTER KILLS CONGRESSMAN; Representative Croft Injured His Thumb and Blood Poisoning Followed.]
in '' the New York Times''; published March 11, 1904 in
Washington, D.C., on March 10, 1904. While serving in Congress, he proposed the idea of building a
post office in downtown Aiken. Upon his death, his son
Theodore G. Croft was elected to finish his father's term in Congress. His son carried on the idea of building the post office.
He was interred in St. Thaddeus' Episcopal Churchyard,
Aiken, South Carolina.
See also
*
Sources
George W. Croft, late a representative from South Carolina, Memorial addresses delivered in the House of Representatives and Senate frontispiece 1905
1846 births
1904 deaths
Confederate States Army personnel
Democratic Party South Carolina state senators
Democratic Party members of the South Carolina House of Representatives
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina
19th-century American politicians
People from Newberry County, South Carolina
People from Aiken, South Carolina
Deaths from sepsis
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