Samuel D. McEnery
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Samuel Douglas McEnery (May 28, 1837 – June 28, 1910) served as the 30th Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana, with service from 1881 until 1888. He was subsequently a
U.S. senator 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 powe ...
from 1897 until 1910. He was the brother of John McEnery, one of the candidates in the contested 1872 election for governor.


Early life

McEnery was born in Monroe in Ouachita Parish in North Louisiana. He attended Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, the United States Naval Academy in
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, Maryland, and the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, Virginia. In 1859, McEnery graduated from the State and National Law School in Poughkeepsie,
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. McEnery served as a lieutenant in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War.


Career

In 1866, McEnery began practicing law in Monroe. He became active in the Democratic Party, and served as its chairman in Ouachita Parish. He was elected
lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
in 1879, and became Governor of Louisiana in 1881 after the death of
Louis A. Wiltz Louis Alfred Wiltz (January 21, 1843 – October 16, 1881) was an American politician from the state of Louisiana. He served as 29th Governor of Louisiana from 1880 to 1881 and before that time was mayor of New Orleans, lieutenant governor of L ...
. McEnery was elected to a full term as governor in 1884, but failed to be re-elected in 1888. McEnery's administration was weak because of the power wielded by the State Treasurer
Edward A. Burke Edward Austin Burke or Burk (September 13, 1839 – September 24, 1928), was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Louisiana State Treasurer, State Treasurer of Louisiana following Reconstruction era of the United States, Reconstruct ...
and the corrupt Louisiana State Lottery Company. Despite Louisiana's Roman Catholic
plurality Plurality may refer to: Voting * Plurality (voting), or relative majority, when a given candidate receives more votes than any other but still fewer than half of the total ** Plurality voting, system in which each voter votes for one candidate and ...
(and majority in
Acadiana Acadiana ( French and Louisiana French: ''L'Acadiane''), also known as the Cajun Country (Louisiana French: ''Le Pays Cadjin'', es, País Cajún), is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that has historically contained mu ...
and many of the southern parishes of the state), McEnery was the last Catholic to be elected governor prior to
Edwin Edwards Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972– ...
in 1972. After losing the 1888 election, McEnery was appointed to serve as an associate justice in the Louisiana Supreme Court. He was elected to serve in the United States Senate in 1896, serving there until his death in 1910. While in the Senate, McEnery served on the Committee of Corporations formed in the District of Columbia and the Committee of Transportation and Sale of Meat Products.


Death

McEnery died on June 28, 1910, in New Orleans and was interred there at Metairie Cemetery.See the Louisiana Secretary of State's
Samuel Douglas McEnery"
site for McEnery's religious affiliation, date of death, and other information.


See also

*
List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–49) There are several lists of United States Congress members who died in office. These include: * List of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899) *List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–1949) *List o ...


Notes


External links

* * Retrieved on 2008-10-19
State of Louisiana - BiographyCemetery Memorial
by La-Cemeteries * *
Samuel D. McEnery, Late a Senator from Louisiana
'. US Government Printing Office. 1911.
John and Samuel McEnery Papers
a
The Historic New Orleans Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:McEnery, Samuel D. 1837 births 1910 deaths Confederate States Army officers Democratic Party United States senators from Louisiana Democratic Party governors of Louisiana Louisiana lawyers Justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court Politicians from Monroe, Louisiana Spring Hill College alumni State and National Law School alumni United States Naval Academy alumni University of Virginia alumni Burials at Metairie Cemetery Catholics from Louisiana 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers