Francis M. Griffith

Francis Marion Griffith (born August 21, 1849 in Moorefield , Switzerland County , Indiana , †  February 8, 1927 in Vevay , Indiana) was an American politician . Between 1897 and 1905 he represented the state of Indiana in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Francis Griffith attended public schools in his home country including Vevay High School and Franklin College . He then taught himself as a teacher. In 1873 he became a school councilor in Switzerland County. After completing a law degree and being admitted to the bar in 1875, he began to work in this profession in Vevay. At the same time he embarked on a political career as a member of the Democratic Party . Between 1875 and 1877 he was district treasurer. In 1880, Griffith attended the Democratic National Convention as a delegate , to which Winfield Scott Hancock was nominated as a presidential candidate. From 1886 to 1894 he was a member of the Indiana Senate ; thereafter he was acting lieutenant governor of his state from 1891 to 1894 . In 1894 he applied unsuccessfully for the post of Attorney General of Indiana.

After the death of Congressman William S. Holman , Griffith was elected as his successor to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , where he took up his new mandate on December 6, 1897 when the by-election was due for the fourth seat of Indiana . After three re-elections, he could remain in Congress until March 3, 1905 . During this time the Spanish-American War of 1898 fell . In 1904, Griffith declined to run again.

After retiring from the US House of Representatives, he returned to practice as a lawyer in Vevay. Between 1912 and 1916 he was the city's legal representative. Griffith served as a judge in his state's fifth judicial district from 1916 to 1922. After that he continued his legal practice. He died in Vevay on February 8, 1927.

Web links

• Francis M. Griffith in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Francis M. Griffith in the database of Find a Grave (English)