John Sluyter Wirt (November 16, 1851 – May 17, 1904) was an American politician and lawyer from Maryland. He served in the

Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single- ...

from 1890 to 1894 and 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 1898.

Early life

John Sluyter Wirt was born on November 16, 1851, at Bohemia Manor (now

Chesapeake City, Maryland Chesapeake City is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 736 at the 2020 census. The town was originally named by Bohemian colonist Augustine Herman the Village of Bohemia — or Bohemia Manor — but the name was ...

), to Margaret Savin (née Biddle) and John W. Wirt. His father was educated as a physician but worked as a farmer. Wirt moved at a young age with his family to a house on Bridge Street in

Elkton, Maryland Elkton is a town in and the county seat of Cecil County, Maryland, Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,443 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It was formerly called Head of Elk because it sits at the head of na ...

. His father died when Wirt was four years old. Wirt attended Elkton Academy and was tutored by his stepbrother W. B. Mitchell. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from St. John's College in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

in 1872. In 1874, Wirt 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 1882, Wirt was conferred with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from St. John's College.

Career

Wirt started practicing law 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 ...

with partner General L. Allison Wilmer. In 1878, Wirt moved to

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, to accept a position with the firm Judd & Whitehouse, but returned to Elkton after the death of his brother Henry Biddle in 1881. He then continued his brother's law practice with George W. Cruikshank. Since 1882, the law firm served as counsel for a number of companies, including the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

, Whitaker Iron Company, Scott Fertilizer Company, Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland, Rowland Manufacturing Company and the Port Deposit Water Company. The law firm would later dissolve and Wirt would remain the counselor for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Wirt was connected with the ''Baltimore Bulletin''. With Frederic Emory, he also started ''The State'', a weekly periodical. He later ran and edited the ''Cecil Democrat''. Wirt 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 ...

. In 1884, Wirt served as a delegate to the

1884 Democratic National Convention The 1884 Democratic National Convention was held July 8–11, 1884 and chose Governor Grover Cleveland of New York their presidential nominee with the former Governor Thomas A. Hendricks of Indiana as the vice presidential nominee.World Book Bac ...

. In 1892, he was delegate-at-large at the

1892 Democratic National Convention The 1892 Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago, Illinois, June 21–June 23, and nominated former President Grover Cleveland, who had been the party's standard-bearer in 1884 and 1888. This marked the last time a former president was ...

. He supported

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

for president in both conventions. In 1889, Wirt was elected to the

. He served from 1890 to 1894. He supported the Australian ballot system. In 1893, Wirt was defeated for renomination to the state senate by Charles C. Crothers. In 1892, Wirt was a candidate for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

, but withdrew from the ballot in support of

Charles Hopper Gibson Charles Hopper Gibson (January 19, 1842 – March 31, 1900) was a U. S. Senator from Maryland, serving from 1891–1897. He also served as a U.S. Congressman from 1885–1891. Biography Gibson was born near Centreville, Maryland, and attended ...

. In 1897, Wirt was elected to the

, representing

Cecil County Cecil County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland at the northeastern corner of the state, bordering both Pennsylvania and Delaware. As of the 2020 census, the population was 103,725. The county seat is Elkton. The county was ...

. He served in 1898. Wirt served as vice president of the Civil Service Reform Association of Maryland and vice president of the Maryland State Bar Association. He served as a trustee of St. John's College starting in 1884.

Personal life

Wirt married Anne Rebecca Pearce on April 28, 1886. Wirt was an

Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

. Wirt lived at East Main Street in Elkton. Wirt died of

uremia Uremia is the term for high levels of urea in the blood. Urea is one of the primary components of urine. It can be defined as an excess of amino acid and protein metabolism end products, such as urea and creatinine, in the blood that would be nor ...

on May 17, 1904, at his home in Elkton. He was buried at the family lot in Elkton Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wirt, John S. 1851 births 1904 deaths People from Chesapeake City, Maryland St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe) alumni University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law alumni Episcopalians from Maryland Democratic Party Maryland state senators Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Maryland lawyers