Theodore Martin "T.M." Stikeleather (1848–1934) was elected to the
North Carolina House of Representatives in 1894 and to the State Senate in 1900 from the
Populist Party. In the Senate he represented the 27th district, which included Iredell, Davie and Yadkin counties.
Family
Theodore Martin Stikeleather was the son of John Alexander Stikeleather and Rhoda Lee Gunn. He is listed in Volume 3 of Levi Branson's ''North Carolina Agricultural Almanac'' as a farmer in Turnersburg in 1890. T. M. was born on August 28, 1848, and died in
Statesville, North Carolina, on June 25, 1934, as the result of complications from facial cancer. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Statesville, North Carolina. He had 8 children with Amelia Louise "Amie" Stimpson, plus two other wives.
[Verified by his granddaughter Esther Stikeleather Mitchell Fabbricante, personal communication, February 10, 2010.]
Populist Party
During the 1890s,
North Carolina witnessed a political revolution as the newly formed
Populist Party joined with the
Republicans
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 unseat conservative
Democrats. Focusing on political transformation,
electoral reform, and new economic policies to aid poor and struggling farmers, the Populists and their coalition partners took power at all levels in the only southern state where Populists gained statewide office. For a brief four years, the Populists and Republicans gave an object lesson in progressive politics in which whites and
African Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
worked together for the betterment of the state and the lives of the people.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stikeleather, T. M.
North Carolina Populists
North Carolina state senators
1934 deaths
1848 births
People from Statesville, North Carolina