Edgar Allan Brown

Edgar Allan Brown (July 11, 1888 – June 26, 1975) was a long time Democratic legislator of South Carolina from Barnwell County during the middle of the 20th century. He was a principal member of the so-called "Barnwell Ring."

Early life and career

Brown was born near Shiloh Springs in Aiken County to Augustus Abraham Brownand Rebecca Elizabeth Howard. He attended the local schools and was also educated at the Augusta Business School. From 1905 to 1906 he served as public reporter and from 1906 to 1907 he was a law clerk and secretary for the Henderson firm in Aiken while also studying law. In 1908, Brown was appointed the official court stenographer of the 2nd Judicial Circuit after competitive examination. Brown passed the state bar examination in 1910 and was admitted to practice law the same year.

Political career

At the age of 26 in 1914, Brown became the chairman of the Democratic executive committee of Barnwell County and also served as a member of the state Democratic executive committee. In 1920, Brown was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives and he became the speaker of the body in 1925. From 1922 to 1926, Brown was the chairman of the state Democratic Party. Brown resigned his speakership in 1926 to challenge Senator Ellison D. Smith in the Democratic primary election, but fell short by 5,000 votes in the runoff election.

In 1928, Brown returned to the statehouse, this time as the senator for Barnwell County. Brown once again challenged Senator Smith, along with Olin D. Johnston, in the 1938 Democratic primary, but Smith pulled out another victory. In 1942, Brown was elected by the state senate to the position of President Pro Tempore, a position he held along with the chairmanship of the finance committee for thirty years. Upon the death of Senator Burnet R. Maybank in 1954, the executive committee of the state Democratic Party chose him as their nominee for the general election. The absence of a primary election caused an uproar in the state and Strom Thurmond defeated Brown as a write-in candidate. Brown retired from the state Senate on July 28, 1972.

During Brown's legislative service, he was known for conservative fiscal policies, financing the state road system with gasoline tax revenue bonds, and improving education in the state as well as implementing the South Carolina Educational Television. His son-in-law Richard Manning Jefferies, Jr. (son of Governor Richard Manning Jefferies) served as chairman of SCETV.

Personal life

Brown married Annie Love Sitgreaves on December 30, 1913 and together they had one child, Emily. He died after suffering injuries in an automobile accident.

References

*cite book | first = Ernest McPherson | last = Lander, Jr. | title = A History of South Carolina, 1865-1960 | year = 1970 | publisher = University of South Carolina Press | id = ISBN 0872491692 | pages = pp. 182, 183, 193, 195

External links

* [http://www.scstatehouse.net/studentpage/brown.htm Statehouse Biography of Edgar Allan Brown]
* [http://www.law.sc.edu/memory/1977/brownea.shtml USC Biography of Edgar Allan Brown]
* [http://www.lib.clemson.edu/spCol/findingaids/ArchivesManuscriptsPDF/brown.htm Edgar Allan Brown Papers]