Andrew L. Todd Sr.

Andrew Lee Todd Sr. (July 27, 1872 – March 24, 1945[1]) was an American lawyer, educator and Democratic member of the Tennessee General Assembly.[2]

Early life

Todd was born in the Rucker community of Rutherford County, Tennessee to a local farmer, Aaron Wilson Todd, and his wife, Elizabeth (Prater) Todd, on July 27, 1872.[3]

He married his wife, Minneola Wilson, on July 3, 1895. They had two sons.

He graduated from Union University (formerly Southwestern Baptist University) in Jackson, Tennessee in 1892, and was selected to become a member of the faculty. He taught at the university until June 1895. After marrying Minneola, he served as the principal of Wartrace high school as well as the Lexington Baptist College.[4] He took a law course at Sewanee, and later at Cumberland University Law school.[5] He graduated from Cumberland in 1901.[4]

In addition to being a charter member of the Murfreesboro Rotary Club in 1919,[6] Todd held memberships in the Masons, the Knights of Pythias, Odd Fellows, and Kappa Sigma fraternity, as well as the Baptist church.[4] He served as an alternate delegate for Tennessee at the Democratic National Convention in 1924.[7]

Career

He was elected as Rutherford County Superintendent of Schools from 1900 to 1907 and Governor Frazier appointed him to the State Board of Education in 1905 where he continued to serve until 1915.[3] As a member of the Board of Education he lobbied to locate the state's new teacher's college to Murfreesboro.[8] The "Middle Tennessee State Teachers College" evolved into the present day Middle Tennessee State University.

From 1913 to 1923, Todd served in the Tennessee General Assembly, two terms in the House and two terms in the Senate.[1] As Speaker of the Senate in the 61st General Assembly, and Speaker of the House in the 62nd General Assembly (1921-1923),[9] he is the only person in Tennessee history to have served in both capacities.[10][11]

Apart from his political career, Todd was also an active businessman. He established the 800 acres (320 ha) "Toddington Farms"[12] which specialized in pure-bred Aberdeen-Angus cattle.[13][14][15] He often made large purchases of cattle.[16][17]

He practiced as an attorney in Murfreesboro for many years and developed many business interests there, including the Murfreesboro Home Journal (owner), the Murfreesboro Bank & Trust Co. (president, 1913-1929), and Murfreesboro Woolen Mills (shareholder). He was a financial correspondent for the Union Central Life Insurance Company and a farm loan correspondent for the New York Life Insurance Company.[4] He purchased another local paper alongside the Murfreesboro Home Journal and merged them into The Daily News Journal.[10]

Ratification of the 19th Amendment

Todd was Speaker of the Senate in 1920, when women's suffrage came up for the vote for ratification in Tennessee. Todd did vote in favor of the measure to support the amendment for women's suffrage, and the resolution passed the state Senate with a vote of 25 to 4 with 2 abstentions.[18]

Legacy

Todd is sometimes referred to as the "godfather" of Middle Tennessee State University and he continued to support the school until his death.[19] In 1958, a new library was constructed at a cost of $450,000. It was named the Andrew L Todd Library in his honor.[19]

During the late 1930s, Todd was involved with the construction of a dam across "Black Fox Camp Spring Creek", the resulting reservoir is now known as "Todd's Lake."[10]

He also attempted to establish the M. Davis Memorial Association August 21, 1920, alongside Eugene Holloway and George H. Armistead, to acquire the homestead of Sam Davis and his place of execution at Pulaski, Tennessee to establish "shrines."[20]

References
  1. Brenda Kirk Fiddler. "MISCELLANEOUS OBITUARIES AND DEATH NOTICES". Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  2. "Index to Politicians: Todd". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  3. "Andrew L. Todd Sr. Papers". Middle Tennessee State University. Archived from the original on June 26, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  4. Moore, John Trotwood; Foster, Austin Powers (1923). Tennessee: The Volunteer State, 1769-1923. S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. p. 396.
  5. Greg Tucker (August 12, 2012). "Developer manipulated Normal school site". Rutherford County Historical Society. Archived from the original on July 8, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  6. "Rotary History – Rotary Club of Murfreesboro". Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  7. Official Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention. National Document Publishers. 1924. p. 73.
  8. Carroll Van West (December 25, 2009). "Middle Tennessee State University". The University of Tennessee Press. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  9. Tennessee Blue Book, 2013-2014 (Authorization No 305315). Tre Hargett, Secretary of State (1st ed.). Tennessee: Department of State. 2013. p. 582.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. Tucker, Greg (2012-08-26). "Lake part of Todd plan to attract VA". Rutherford County Historical Association. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  11. "ANDREW L. TODD.; Was Speaker of Both Houses in Tennessee Legislature". The New York Times. 1945-03-25. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  12. Farming, the Business Magazine. Knoxville, TN. 1920. p. 350.
  13. The American Aberdeen-Angus Herd-book: Containing a Record of Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Approved and Admitted for Registry Under the By-laws of the American Aberdeen-Angus Breeders' Association. American Aberdeen-Angus Breeders' Association. Rutgers University. 1886. pp. 658, 661.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  14. The Aberdeen-Angus Journal. Vol. 3–4. Aberdeen-Angus Journal Publishing Company. 1921. pp. 15–16.
  15. Aberdeen-Angus Journal. Vol. 1. Webster City, IA: Aberdeen-Angus Journal Publishing Company. 1920-06-10. p. 16.
  16. "A Record Cattle Sale in the South | E.L. Hampton Scores an Average of $1,049 on 54 Aberdeen-Angus". The Breeder's Gazette. 76: 981. 1919-11-06 – via Google Books.
  17. "Record Angus Sale". The Field Illustrated: 44. 1920 – via Google Books.
  18. "Transcript of the Senate journal of the first extra session of the 61st General Assembly on Senate Joint Resolution No 1, relative to ratifying the nineteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States". Tennessee Virtual Archive. 1920-08-13. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  19. Alexander, Sue; Field, Kathy. "History of the Libraries at Middle Tennessee State University". Tennessee Library Association. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  20. Baird, Mary Robertson, ed. (1956). Home of Sam Davis, Smyrna, Tennessee: A State Shrine of a Southern Scout. Under Management of The Sam Davis Memorial Association, Smyrna, Tennessee. p. 19.
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