Sydney Emanuel Mudd I (February 12, 1858 – October 21, 1911) was a politician, elected as

Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates The Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates presides as speaker over the House of Delegates in the state of Maryland in the United States. List of speakers Footnotes References Maryland State Archives - House of Delegates Records ...

(1896) and as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to 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 ...

(1890–1891; 1897–1911), at a time of dominance by Democrats in much of the state. He was first seated by Congress in 1890 after it found in his favor in relation to the contested 1888 election in

Maryland's 5th congressional district Maryland's 5th congressional district comprises all of Charles, St. Mary's, and Calvert counties, as well as portions of Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties. The district is currently represented by Democrat Steny Hoyer, the current Ho ...

, which was marked by fraud and intimidation.

Early life and education

Sydney Emanuel Mudd was born to Jeremiah T. Mudd on February 12, 1858. He was born into the planter class at the family plantation, ''Gallant Green'', in

Charles County, Maryland Charles County is a county in Southern Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert (1637–1715), third Baron Baltimore. Charles County is part of the Wash ...

, Mudd was reared Catholic and first educated locally. He was the nephew of

Samuel Mudd Samuel Alexander Mudd Sr. (December 20, 1833 – January 10, 1883) was an American physician who was imprisoned for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth concerning the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Mudd worked as a doctor and tobacco fa ...

, the doctor that aided

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who assassinated United States President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the prominent 19th-century Booth th ...

after he assassinated President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. He attended

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

and graduated from St. John's College of

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 1878. He "read the law" as an apprentice with an established firm and also attended the law department of the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1880 and returned to Charles County to begin his practice.

Marriage and family

Mudd married Ida Griffin, the daughter of Walter Griffin of Surrattsville (now part of

Clinton, Maryland Clinton is an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Clinton was formerly known as Surrattsville until after the time of the Civil War. The population of Clinton was 38,760 at the 2020 cens ...

), in 1882. She died in 1907. Together, they had four children, one daughter and three sons. Among their children was

Sydney Emanuel Mudd II Sydney Emanuel Mudd II (June 20, 1885 – October 11, 1924) was an American attorney and politician from Maryland's 5th congressional district, elected to several terms as a US Representative in Congress, dying in office. He was a Republican ...

, who became an attorney and politician like his father. The son was elected to several terms as a Congressman from Maryland's 5th district beginning in 1914, after his father's death."Mudd, Sydney Emanuel II"
''Maryland Biographical Dictionary'', pp. 388-390

Career

Mudd was elected a member of 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 1879 and 1881. As a Republican candidate, he challenged and successfully contested the 1888 election of

Barnes Compton Barnes Compton (November 16, 1830 – December 2, 1898) was a Representative of the fifth congressional district of Maryland and a Treasurer of Maryland. Early life Barnes Compton was born on November 16, 1830 in Port Tobacco, Charles County, ...

as US Representative from the

5th district District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta * Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...

to the Fifty-first Congress. At a time when many Maryland elections were surrounded by violence and fraud as Democrats sought to re-establish

white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...

, Mudd filed charges of

election fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

. He claimed that election officials had turned away qualified voters and that, in Anne Arundel County, Democrats posing as US Marshals intimidated blacks, forcing them from the polls. The House Committee on Elections investigated and decided in his favor. Congress awarded the seat to Mudd in 1889, and he served in the next session, from March 20, 1890, to March 3, 1891. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1890 to the Fifty-second Congress, defeated by Compton. In 1895 Mudd was elected again to the state House of Delegates, where he served as Speaker of the House. He moved to rural

La Plata, Maryland La Plata is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 10,159 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Charles County. History According to an unconfirmed local story, the town was named by one Colonel Samuel Chapm ...

in 1896. He served as a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

the same year. In 1896 Mudd benefitted by the coattails of a winning Republican biracial coalition that gained the governorship.STEPHEN TUCK, "Democratization and the Disfranchisement of African Americans in the US South during the Late 19th Century" (pdf)
Spring 2013, reading for "Challenges of Democratization", by Brandon Kendhammer, Ohio University He was elected from the 5th district to the Fifty-fifth and to the six succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1897 to March 3, 1911. (His chief Democratic rival in the district, Barnes Compton, died in 1898.) In Congress, Mudd served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Justice (Sixtieth and Sixty-first Congresses). He was popularly known as "Marse Sydney" by his constituents.

Death

Mudd died of a stroke in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

on October 21, 1911. He was interred in St. Ignatius’ Catholic Church Cemetery at Chapel Point near La Plata."Mudd, Sydney Emanuel "
''Maryland Biographical Dictionary'', p. 388

References

"Mudd, Sydney Emanuel "
''Maryland Biographical Dictionary'', p. 388

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mudd, Sydney Emanuel 1858 births 1911 deaths Speakers of the Maryland House of Delegates Georgetown University alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe) alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland People from Charles County, Maryland 19th-century American politicians