Wall Doxey
Wall Doxey | |
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| United States Senator from Mississippi | |
| In office September 29, 1941 – January 3, 1943 | |
| Preceded by | James Eastland |
| Succeeded by | James Eastland |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 2nd district | |
| In office March 4, 1929 – September 28, 1941 | |
| Preceded by | Bill G. Lowrey |
| Succeeded by | Jamie Whitten |
| 19th Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate | |
| In office February 1, 1943 – January 3, 1947 | |
| Leader | Alben W. Barkley |
| Preceded by | Chesley W. Jurney |
| Succeeded by | Edward F. McGinnis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 8, 1892 Holly Springs, Mississippi, US |
| Died | March 2, 1962 (aged 69) Memphis, Tennessee, US |
| Resting place | Hillcrest Cemetery, Holly Springs, Mississippi |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Myrtle Frances Johnson |
| Relations | Ralph H. Doxey (grandson) |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | University of Mississippi University of Mississippi School of Law |
| Profession | Attorney |
Wall Doxey (August 8, 1892 – March 2, 1962) was an American politician from Holly Springs, Mississippi. A Democrat, he served in the United States House of Representatives from 1929 to 1941 and the United States Senate from 1941 to 1943.
Early life
[edit]Wall Doxey was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi on August 8, 1892, a son of John Sanford Doxey and Sarah Corrolla (Jones) Doxey.[1][2] He was raised and educated in Holly Springs, and graduated from the University of Mississippi with an A.B. in 1913.[1] In 1914, he received his LL.B. from the University of Mississippi School of Law.[1]
Doxey was admitted to the bar in 1914 and practiced in Holly Springs.[1] In 1916, he married Myrtle Frances Johnson of Jackson, Tennessee.[3] They were the parents of a son, Wall Doxey Jr.[3] Ralph H. Doxey, who served in the Mississippi House of Representatives and Mississippi Senate, is Doxey's grandson.[4]
A Democrat, Doxey served as prosecuting attorney of Marshall County from 1915 to 1923.[1] From 1923 to 1929, he was district attorney for Mississippi's Third Judicial District.[1]
In addition to membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Doxey was active in Freemasonry and the Shriners.[3] He also belonged to the Elks, Rotary Club, Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity and Omicron Delta Kappa college fraternity.[3]
Congress
[edit]U.S. House
[edit]In 1928, Doxey was elected to represent Mississippi's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.[1] He was reelected six times, and served from 1929 to 1941.[1] Doxey was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions of 1932, 1936, and 1940.[5]
Throughout his political career, Doxey represented a district with a black-majority population.[6] Black voters were largely affiliated with the Republican Party in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but they were effectively excluded from Mississippi's political system by the state constitution and legal restrictions that prevented them from registering to vote.[7]
U.S. Senate
[edit]After the death of U.S. Senator Pat Harrison, Doxey won a special election to fill the seat,[8] and served in the United States Senate from 1941 until 1943.[1] He was defeated in the 1942 Democratic primary by James Eastland.[9]
Later career
[edit]Doxey served as United States Senate Sergeant at Arms from February 1, 1943, to January 3, 1947.[1] He is the only former senator to have served in this post.[10] He served for the rest of 1947 as a hearing examiner for the United States Department of Agriculture.[1] Doxey then returned to Holly Springs, where he practiced law until his retirement.[1]
Doxey died in Memphis, Tennessee on March 2, 1962.[5] He was buried at Hill Crest Cemetery in Holly Springs.[5]
Legacy
[edit]Mississippi's Wall Doxey State Park is named for Doxey.[11] Construction of the park took place from 1935 to 1938, and it was the eighth of ten Mississippi parks built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.[11] Originally named Spring Lake State Park, the site was renamed in 1956.[11] In 1997, the older part of the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Wall Doxey State Park Historic District.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Joint Committee On Printing, United States Congress (1950). Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. ISBN 978-0-598-68615-2 – via Google Books.
- ^ Who's Who In The East. Vol. I. Chicago: Larkin, Roosevelt & Larkin. 1942. p. 775 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d Joint Committee On Printing, United States Congress (1940). Official Congressional Directory. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. p. 58 – via Google Books.
- ^ Kanengiser, Adam (September 19, 2004). "Republicans Welcome Sen. Ralph Doxey". The Clarion-Ledger. Jackson, Mississippi. p. 2G – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Joint Committee On Printing, United States Congress (1971). Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1971. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. p. 879 – via Google Books.
- ^ Busbee, Westley F. Jr. (2015). Mississippi: A History. Malden, Massachusetts: John Wiley & Sons. p. 236. ISBN 978-1-1187-5590-7 – via Google Books.
- ^ Katznelson, Ira (2014). Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time. New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation. pp. 153‒154. ISBN 978-0-8714-0660-6 – via Google Books.
- ^ MS US Senate - Special Election Race - Sep 23, 1941. Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
- ^ MS US Senate - D Runoff Race - Sep 15, 1942. Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
- ^ Historian of the United States Senate (2020). "Wall Doxey, Sergeant at Arms, 1943–1947". Senate.gov. Washington, DC: U.S. Senate. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Historic Resources Inventory: Wall Doxey State Park". MDAH.MS.gov. Jackson, Mississippi: Mississippi Department of Archives & History. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Wall Doxey at Wikimedia Commons
- United States Congress. "Wall Doxey (id: D000480)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
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- 1892 births
- 1962 deaths
- Sergeants at Arms of the United States Senate
- Democratic Party United States senators from Mississippi
- Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Mississippi
- People from Holly Springs, Mississippi
- Burials at Hillcrest Cemetery
- 20th-century United States senators
- 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
- Mississippi politician stubs