Bird S. McGuire | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's1st district | |
| In office November 16, 1907 – March 3, 1915 | |
| Succeeded by | James S. Davenport |
| Delegate to theU.S. House of Representatives fromTerritory of Oklahoma'sat-large district | |
| In office March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1907 | |
| Preceded by | Dennis T. Flynn |
| Succeeded by | statehood achieved |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Bird Segle McGuire (1865-10-13)October 13, 1865 Belleville, Illinois, US |
| Died | November 9, 1930(1930-11-09) (aged 65) Tulsa, Oklahoma, US |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Goldie Cross McGuire; Ruby Ridgeway (1911)[1] |
| Alma mater | University of Kansas at Lawrence |
| Profession | cattleman, teacher, lawyer, politician |
Bird Segle McGuire (October 13, 1865 – November 9, 1930) was an American politician, a Delegate and the lastU.S. Representative fromOklahoma Territory. After statehood, he was elected as an Oklahoma member of Congress, where he served four consecutive terms. He retired from politics in 1915. He was a cousin ofWilliam Neville.
Born inBelleville, Illinois, McGuire moved toRandolph County, Missouri with his parents in 1867. He attended public school, and moved toChautauqua County, Kansas, in the spring of 1881; and then toIndian Territory. He engaged in thecattle business, and attended the StateNormal School atEmporia, Kansas.
McGuire taught for several terms, and later attended the law department of theUniversity of Kansas at Lawrence. He wasadmitted to the bar in 1889 and commenced practice inSedan, county seat ofChautauqua, Kansas. He registered as a Republican the first time he voted, and remained in that party for the rest of his life. He served asprosecuting attorney ofChautauqua County, Kansas from 1890 to 1894.[1]
After moving to Pawnee in Indian Territory in 1894 he opened a law practice there. He was appointed assistantUnited States Attorney forOklahoma Territory in 1897, in which capacity he served until after his nomination for Congress.[2]
McGuire was recognized as the leader of one wing of theOklahoma Republican Party and battled with the last territorial governorFrank Frantz over party leadership and patronage appointments.[3] The infighting resulted in McGuire's being the only Republican elected to Congress from Oklahoma in 1907.[3]
Elected as aRepublican a Delegate to theFifty-eighth andFifty-ninth Congresses, McGuire served from March 4, 1903, to March 3, 1907. As a Territorial representative he could not vote. However, he could participate in the debates. When Congress took up the issue of statehood for the twin territories, the Democrats were adamantly in favor of creating two states:Sequoyah for Indian Territory (the eastern part) andOklahoma for the western part. Republicans favored a single state that would be calledOklahoma. Although Congress was closely divided, the Republican presidentTheodore Roosevelt was so opposed to the two-state solution, he promised to veto any legislation that came to his desk with that option. McGuire realized that if the Democrats got their way, then no state would be created in the foreseeable future. Historian Thoburn wrote that McGuire proved so capable in moving the Democrats to back down on their two-state position that Congress passed the Oklahoma Enabling Act which the President signed, even though grudgingly.[4]
He was then elected as a Representative to theSixtieth and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from November 16, 1907, when Oklahoma was admitted as a State into the Union, until March 3, 1915.[5] He served as chairman of theCommittee on Expenditures in the Department of the Interior (Sixty-first Congress). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1914 to theSixty-fourth Congress.
He married Ruby Ridgeway of Kansas City, Missouri on June 2, 1911. When his term expired in 1915, he moved his residence from Pawnee to Tulsa, where he resumed his law practice until his death.[4] McGuire also owned and operated a largeranch nearBartlesville, Oklahoma.
McGuire died in Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, on November 9, 1930 (age 65 years, 27 days). He isinterred at Memorial Park Cemetery, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.[6]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives fromOklahoma Territory's at-large congressional district March 4, 1903 – March 4, 1907 | Succeeded by None, statehood achieved |
| Preceded by None, statehood achieved | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromOklahoma's 1st congressional district November 16, 1907 – March 4, 1915 | Succeeded by |
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