Samuel H. Wragg (June 9, 1882 – May 13, 1959) was an American politician who served as
President of the Massachusetts Senate
The president of the Massachusetts Senate is the presiding officer. Unlike the United States Congress, in which the vice president of the United States is the ''ex officio'' president of the United States Senate, in Massachusetts, the president of ...
from 1937 to 1939 and sheriff of
Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Norfolk County is located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 census, the population was 725,981. Its county seat is Dedham. It is the fourth most populous county in the United States whose county seat is neither a city nor a bor ...
from 1939 to 1959.
Early life
Wragg was on June 9, 1882 in
Needham, Massachusetts. He attended public schools in Needham and worked in manufacturing before entering politics.
Political career
Wragg served on the Needham Board of Selectmen from 1914 to 1920 and in the
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...
from 1919 to 1924. In 1924, Wragg was elected to the
Massachusetts Senate
The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...
. During his tenure in the Senate, Wragg chaired the Joint Committee on Municipal Finance and the special commission on public expenditures and was a member of the rules, conservation, and public welfare committees.
From 1931 to 1955, Wragg also served as Needham's town moderator.
Senate leadership
In 1935, Republican
James G. Moran was elected president of the Senate with the votes of 19 Democrats and 1 Republican. Moran routinely sided with the Democrats and the majority of Republican Senators voted to form a steering committee, chaired by Wragg, which would serve as the party's official organization in the Senate. In July 1936, Wragg announced that he would seek the Senate presidency in the 1937-38 session.
Wragg secured more Republican support than floor leader
Donald W. Nicholson and was elected president.
Sheriff of Norfolk County
In 1938, Wragg was elected Sheriff of Norfolk County. He held the position until his death on May 13, 1959.
See also
* Massachusetts legislature:
1919
Events
January
* January 1
** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia.
** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...
,
1920,
1921–1922,
1923–1924,
1925–1926,
1927–1928,
1929–1930,
1931–1932,
1933–1934,
1935–1936,
1937–1938
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wragg, Samuel H.
1882 births
1959 deaths
High Sheriffs of Norfolk County
Republican Party Massachusetts state senators
Politicians from Needham, Massachusetts
Presidents of the Massachusetts Senate
20th-century American politicians