John Franklin Rixey | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's8th district | |
| In office March 4, 1897 – February 8, 1907 | |
| Preceded by | Elisha E. Meredith |
| Succeeded by | Charles C. Carlin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1854-08-01)August 1, 1854 |
| Died | February 8, 1907(1907-02-08) (aged 52) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Ella B. Barbour |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | University of Virginia |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
John Franklin Rixey (August 1, 1854 – February 8, 1907) was aDemocraticU.S. congressman fromVirginia's8th congressional district from 1897 to 1907.[1]
John Franklin Rixey was born on August 1, 1854, in theCatalpa district ofCulpeper County, Virginia, to farmer Presley Morehead Rixey and his wife the former Mary Frances Jones. His older brothers included Charles J. Rixey (1849–) andPresley Marion Rixey. The son of his younger brother, the banker Eppa Rixey (1857–1917) would become a major league baseball player,Eppa Rixey Jr. This John Rixey attended local schools and Bethel Academy, then studied law at theUniversity of Virginia.[2]
Rixey married Ella B. Barbour (1859–1946), daughter ofJames Barbour and his wife Fanny Thomas Beckham and granddaughter ofJohn S. Barbour, who had likewise been a member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's 15th congressional district. Their children included Mary Barbour Compton (b. 1884), John Strode Rixey (b. 1891), James B. Rixey (b. 1895) and Edith Presley Rixey Moore (b. 1897).[3]
After admission to the Virginia bar in 1875, Rixey had a private legal practice inCulpeper, Virginia. He was elected the county's Commonwealth Attorney (prosecutor) in 1879 and served in that position until 1891.[4]
In 1896,Democratic CongressmanElisha E. Meredith retired to his legal practice, and voters inVirginia's 8th congressional district elected Rixey to the55th Congress. Re-elected five times, Rixey served from March 4, 1897, until his death inWashington, D.C., on February 8, 1907 (before the close of the59th Congress). Although he had been re-elected to the60th Congress, he died before beginning that term.
Beginning in his third Congressional term, Rixey proposed to place all Civil War veterans in the same class with respect to federal and state soldiers' homes. He also hosted PresidentTheodore Roosevelt at Beauregard during his visit to Culpeper county andCedar Run battlefield in 1902. Furthermore, a troop of Culpeper County veterans from the Spanish–American War marched at Roosevelt's inauguration.[5] Rixey also introduced bills to createManassas Battlefield Park, as advocated by constituents Edmund Berkeley andGeorge Carr Round, although none passed until decades after his unexpectedly early death.[6]
Rixey died in Washington, D.C., on February 8, 1907. His portrait was placed at the courthouse in 1917.[7]
After a contestedDemocratic primary,Charles Creighton Carlin ofAlexandria, Virginia, succeeded him in the U.S. House.
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's 8th congressional district 1897–1907 | Succeeded by |
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