William Hodges Mann | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 46thGovernor of Virginia | |
| In office February 10, 1910 – February 1, 1914 | |
| Lieutenant | James Taylor Ellyson |
| Preceded by | Claude A. Swanson |
| Succeeded by | Henry Carter Stuart |
| Member of theVirginia Senate from the28th district | |
| In office December 6, 1899 – January 12, 1910 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Turnbull |
| Succeeded by | John J. Owen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Hodges Mann (1843-07-30)July 30, 1843 Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | December 12, 1927(1927-12-12) (aged 84) Petersburg, Virginia, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 2 |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Confederate States |
| Branch/service | Confederate States Army |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit | 12th Virginia Infantry |
| Battles/wars | Battle of Seven Pines |
William Hodges Mann (July 30, 1843 – December 12, 1927) was an American lawyer,Confederate soldier andDemocratic politician who became the first judge ofNottoway County, Virginia and the last Confederate veteran to serve as theGovernor of Virginia (from 1910 to 1914).[1]
Born inWilliamsburg, Virginia on July 30, 1843, to John and Mary Hunter Bowers Mann. Mann had an older brother, Edwin Murray Mann (1840–1885) who was born inDelaware County, New York and who also became a Virginia judge, but inPetersburg after the American Civil War. Their father died and their mother remarried, to a man named Trotter, whom she survived, dying in 1893. William Mann attended Williamsburg Academy locally, then Brownsburg Academy, a private Presbyterian high school inBrownsburg,Rockbridge County, Virginia in theShenandoah Valley.[2]
He married twice, first to Sallie Fitzgerald Mann (1845–1882) and later to Etta Edloe Donnan Mann (1861–1960), with whom he had two children: Stewart Donnan Mann (1886–1889) and William Hodges Mann Jr. (1890–1953).
When he was 16, Mann became Deputy Clerk ofNottoway County, Virginia inSouthside Virginia. He left to return to Williamsburg and on April 20, 1861, enlisted as a private in Company E of the12th Virginia Infantry the day after his brother Edward Murry Mann enlisted in the same unit and two days before their brother John Mann (a deputy clerk in the Petersburg Court) enlisted, all as theCivil War. All survived the war, and John Mann was discharged at the end of July 1861 to resume his clerical duties.[3] Initially, the 12th Virginia guarded the vital Norfolk naval yard and port, and the city of Petersburg (an important rail hub and transshipment point). In 1862, responding to the federalPeninsular Campaign, the 12th Virginia became part of "Mahone's Brigade" (named forWilliam Mahone in Longstreet's Corps in theArmy of Northern Virginia. It then participated in several major campaigns. Mann was severely injured during its first significant combat, theBattle of Seven Pines, on June 1, 1862, and during his recovery, he briefly served as a clerk in the Confederate Treasury department in Richmond. Mann later became a scout behind enemy lines and was captured by Union forces in 1863, but escaped, and served again during the federalSiege of Petersburg.[4] Upon partially recovering from his wounds, Mann resumed his office as Deputy Clerk in Nottoway County as the war ended.
After General Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House, Mann read law. He began practicing law in Nottoway County in 1867, and became involved in Democratic Party politics, eventually with what became known as the Martin Organization organized by future U.S. SenatorThomas Staples Martin. In 1890, the Virginia General Assembly elected Mann judge of Nottoway County. However, his judicial career proved brief.
Voters from Nottaway County, together with those from adjacentLunenburg andBrunswick Counties elected Mann to represent them in the Virginia Senate in 1899, and re-elected him several times, although after the 1900 census and 1902 State Constitutional Convention redistricting, the state senatorial district (now numbered the 28th) was redrawn to include not only Nottoway and Lunenburg Counties, butAmelia,Prince Edward andCumberland Counties instead of Brunswick County (which was put into the 25th District along withMecklenburg County and represented by F.B. Roberts).[5] (Mann's Senate predecessor,Robert Turnbull, was also a lawyer and was elected clerk of Brunswick County in 1901 and later to the U.S. Congress). Senator Mann became chairman of the committee to revise Virginia Laws. In 1906 he introduced legislation to construct 450 high schools in Virginia, the most progressive educational funding to that date. Mann also favoredProhibition, but only at the state level; the "Mann Law" he authored closed about 800 saloons in counties lacking police protection.[6]
Mann was elected Virginia's governor in 1909 with 63.35% of the vote, defeating Republican William P. Kent and Socialist Labor candidate A.H. Dennitt. Upon taking office in January 1910, Mann became the lastConfederate soldier to serve as Governor of Virginia. Governor Mann continued to advocate temperance and public education.[6] During his governorship, Mann refused to prevent the execution of the teen-agedVirginia Christian, a black house maid who was convicted of murdering her white employer, and the subject of a nationwide campaign for clemency.[7]
In 1911, Mann shook hands with PresidentWilliam Howard Taft as part of theManassas Peace Jubilee marking the 50th anniversary of theFirst Battle of Bull Run.
Upon leaving office in 1914, Mann returned to his legal practice in Nottoway County and continued to remain active in the Democratic Party. He died on December 12, 1927, aged 84, survived by his second wife (who died in 1960) and son William Hodges Mann (1890–1953), who had become a lawyer and served as Petersburg's mayor. Governor Mann was buried in what became the family plot at historicBlandford Cemetery in Petersburg. TheLibrary of Virginia has his gubernatorial papers.[8]
Other sources
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Democratic nominee for Governor of Virginia 1909 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Virginia 1910–1914 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
