Merritt Cramer Mechem (October 10, 1870 – May 24, 1946) was an American politician who served as territorial Supreme Court justice and fifth

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

Biography

Early life

Mechem was born in Ottawa, Franklin County,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

to Homer C. Mechem and Martha (Davenport) Mechem. He graduated from public school in Kansas and attended the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

and

Ottawa University Ottawa University (OU) is a private Baptist university with its main campus in Ottawa, Kansas, a second residential campus in Surprise, Arizona, and adult campuses in the Kansas City, Phoenix and Milwaukee metropolitan areas. It was founded in ...

Ottawa, Kansas Ottawa (pronounced ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Franklin County, Kansas, United States. It is located on both banks of the Marais des Cygnes River near the center of Franklin County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the c ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1893."The Republican Candidate" ''The Rio Grande Republic'' September 16, 1920 page 2, Bronson Printing Company, Las Cruces, NM After practicing law in Fort Smith, Arkansas for ten years, he moved his law practice to

Tucumcari, New Mexico Tucumcari (; ) is a city in and the county seat of Quay County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 5,278 at the 2020 census. Tucumcari was founded in 1901, two years before Quay County was established. History In 1901, the Chicago, ...

at the age of thirty-two in 1903.

Career

Mechem was appointed by Governor Otero as the district attorney for

Quay A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths ( mooring locatio ...

and Guadalupe Counties of New Mexico, a position he held from 1905 to 1909, being reappointed by Governor Hagerman. He also served as a member of the New Mexico Territorial Council from 1909 to 1911. In 1909

President Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

appointed him a justice of the New Mexico Territorial Supreme Court where he served until 1911. Thereafter he served as a district judge for the Seventh Judicial District in Socorro until 1920, being twice re-elected. On the twelfth of February 1910, in Santa Fe, Judge Mechem was married to Miss Eleanor Frances O’Heir, a native of Chicago, Illinois. In September 1917 in a famous attempt to silence the press Judge Mechem convicted the editor of the ''New Mexican'' of criminal contempt for publishing a story about the judge’s affidavit in a separate libel case against the newspaper. The contempt conviction was speedily reversed, but the underlying libel case was not dismissed until October 1919. In 1920 he became the Republican candidate for governor and won by the largest percentage vote of any previous New Mexico gubernatorial election. He decided not to run for a second term. In 1923 he opened his law practice in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

which he maintained until his death. His law offices were in the First National Bank building where he later associated with another former governor, Arthur T. Hannett. He served a term as president of the state bar association, and was a ranking Mason, an affiliate of the

Scottish Rite The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction in the United States often omits the ''and'', while the English Constitution in the United Kingdom omits the ''Scottish''), commonly known as simply the S ...

bodies and holder of the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite at Santa Fe. He was also a member of the

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a soci ...

Sons of the American Revolution The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR or NSSAR) is an American congressionally chartered organization, founded in 1889 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. A non-profit corporation, it has described its purpose ...

, the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of aca ...

, and the Albuquerque Lawyers Club.

Electoral history

Governor of New Mexico

Notes

References

* Sobel, Robert and Raimo. John (1978) "Mechem, Merritt Cramer (1870-1946)" ''Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States 1789-1978'' (in vol. 3 of four vols.) Meckler Publishing, Westport, CT, * "Mechem, Merritt Cramer " ''Current Biography Yearbook'' 1946 edition. H.W. Wilson Co., New York * "Mechem, Merritt Cramer (1870-1946)" ''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography'' (Volume 33, 1947) James T. White & Co., New York

External links

"New Mexico Governor Merritt Cramer Mechem" National Governors Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mechem, Merrit C. 1870 births 1946 deaths Members of the New Mexico Territorial Legislature New Mexico Territory judges New Mexico state court judges Democratic Party governors of New Mexico University of Kansas alumni People from Tucumcari, New Mexico Ottawa University alumni Sons of the American Revolution Arkansas lawyers New Mexico lawyers Republican Party governors of New Mexico People from Ottawa, Kansas Baptists from New Mexico People from Socorro, New Mexico Baptists from Kansas