William Walton Kitchin | |
|---|---|
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| 52ndGovernor of North Carolina | |
| In office January 12, 1909 – January 15, 1913 | |
| Lieutenant | William C. Newland |
| Preceded by | Robert Broadnax Glenn |
| Succeeded by | Locke Craig |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Carolina's5th district | |
| In office March 4, 1897 – January 11, 1909 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Settle III |
| Succeeded by | John M. Morehead |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Walton Kitchin (1866-10-09)October 9, 1866 |
| Died | November 9, 1924(1924-11-09) (aged 58) Scotland Neck, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Sue Musette Satterfield |
| Children | 6 |
| Alma mater | Wake Forest University University of North Carolina School of Law |
| Profession | Lawyer, politician |
William Walton Kitchin (October 9, 1866 – November 9, 1924) was an American attorney and the52nd governor of theU.S. state ofNorth Carolina from 1909 to 1913.
W.W. Kitchin was the son ofWilliam H. Kitchin and Maria Figures Arrington. He was born inScotland Neck, North Carolina.[1] He was the brother ofClaude Kitchin and the uncle ofAlvin Paul Kitchin, each of whom served in the United States Congress.
Kitchn attendedVine Hill Academy in Scotland Neck.[2] He graduated fromWake Forest College in 1884, studied law at theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and passed theNorth Carolina Bar examination in 1887. He practiced law inRoxboro, North Carolina.
On 22 December 1892, W.W. Kitchin marriedSue Musette Satterfield of Roxboro.[3] They had six children: Sue Arrington (22 October 1893 – 5 August 1954), William Walton (16 August 1895 – 30 September 1905), Anne Maria (23 October 1897 – 16 January 1995), Elizabeth Gertrude (19 December 1899 – 9 September 1979), Clement Satterfield (19 June 1902 – 21 December 1930), and Musette Satterfield (10 August 1906 – 17 October 1996).
In 1892, he ran unsuccessfully for theNorth Carolina Senate but was later elected for six terms in theUnited States House of Representatives, from 1897 to 1909. In 1898, he helped lead theWilmington insurrection of 1898, a violent coup d'état by a group of white supremacists. They expelled opposition black and white political leaders from the city, destroyed the property and businesses of black citizens built up since the Civil War, including the only black newspaper in the city, and killed an estimated 60 to more than 300 people.[4] With other members of his family, he was an active participant in leading to the approval of a state constitutional amendment in 1900 placing numerous limitations on the right of blackTar Heels to vote. In January, 1901,George Henry White, an African-American, included Kitchin in his Congressional farewell address. He said that no politician had done more to bring the African-American into disrepute. White also said that Kitchin attempted to disprove African-Americans were worthy of theFourteenth Amendment.[5]
In 1906 Kitchin proposed an amendment to thePost Office Department's appropriations bill to end the $167,000 subsidy paid toSouthern Railway funding theFast Mail service, which served his constituency directly and was the last fast mail train in the United States that received such a subsidy. The train was discontinued on January 1, 1907, as a result, and Kitchin's amendment was later used as a campaign issue against him.[6][7][8][9][10]
Limited to one term as governor by the state constitution of the time, Kitchin ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate in 1912.[11] His tenure as governor was highly productive: he increased expenditures for public education and public health services, oversaw expansion of railroads and increased stability of the state's banks,[12] and presided over other reforms.[13][14][15]After completing his term, Governor Kitchin practiced law inRaleigh, NC until 1919, when his declining health led him to retire to his home inScotland Neck, NC. He died in 1924 and is buried in the Scotland Neck Baptist Cemetery.[16]
United States Congress."KITCHIN, William Walton (id: K000252)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of North Carolina 1908 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | United States Representative fromNorth Carolina's 5th congressional district 1897-1909 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of North Carolina 1909-1913 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
