Hugh McQueen Street (January 7, 1833 – May 31, 1920) was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician. He served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1870 to 1880, 1890 to 1894, and from 1908 to 1912. He was its Speaker in four different stints (1873–1874, 1876–1878, 1892–1894, 1908–1912).
Early life and family
Hugh McQueen Street was born on January 7, 1833, in Moore County, North Carolina.[1][2] He was of Scottish ancestry.[1] He was the oldest of 13 children of Donald Street, whose family first settled in Prince William County, Virginia, before moving to North Carolina; and his wife, Lydia (McBryde) Street.[1][2] Street's paternal great-uncle, Hugh McQueen, was an Attorney General of North Carolina.[1][2] Street's maternal grandfather, Archibald McBryde, was a member of Congress.[1]
Street attended an "old-field school" in 1840, and attended Carthage High School from 1847 to 1848.[1] Street moved with his family to Tishomingo County, Mississippi, in 1852.[2]
Military career
In 1861, Street joined the Confederate Army, and served, mostly on detached duty, until 1865.[1] He was a member of the 26th Mississippi Infantry Regiment.[2]
Political career
First stint (1870-1880)
In 1869, Street was elected to represent Tishomingo County in the Mississippi House of Representatives.[1][2] In 1870, he introduced a bill creating Prentiss County.[2] Representing Prentiss County, he served two-year terms, ending in 1880 when he chose not to seek re-election in 1879.[1] From 1873 to 1874 and from 1876 to 1878, Street was the Speaker of the Mississippi House.[1]
Second and third stints (1890-1894, 1908-1912)
In 1889, Street was elected to represent Lauderdale County in the Mississippi House of Representatives, and served a two-year term from 1890 to 1892.[1] During that term, Street introduced the bill that created the Mississippi Constitutional Convention of 1890, on which he served himself.[3][2] The convention created the 1890 Mississippi Constitution, which disenfranchised black voters.[3][4] Street was re-elected in 1891 for a four-year term and, at the beginning of the session in 1892, was elected Speaker again, by a close 61–59 vote over James S. Madison.[1][5] He resigned from the term during the legislature's 1894 session.[1] On November 5, 1907, Street was elected for another four-year House term from 1908 to 1912.[1] On January 7, 1908 (also his 75th birthday), Street was also elected Speaker of the House for that term.[1] In total, he served as the Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives in four different stints.[1][6]
Later life
Street died at his home in Meridian, Mississippi, on May 31, 1920.[6][2]
Personal life
Street married Charlotte Elizabeth Prindle on November 2, 1858.[1] Street then married Charlotte Augusta Ryder on October 13, 1887.[1] As of 1908, Street had five living children: Charles R., Albert J., Bessie Lee (Street) Coburn, Ethel, and Lottie Prentiss (Street) Champenois.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Rowland, Dunbar (1908). The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi. Department of Archives and History.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Confederated Southern Memorial Association (U.S.); Sons of Confederate Veterans (Organization); United Confederate veterans; United Daughters of the Confederacy (1921). Confederate Veteran [serial] (1921). State Library of North Carolina. Nashville, Tenn. : [S.A. Cunningham]. pp. 26–27.
- ^ a b Convention, Mississippi Constitutional (1890). Journal of the Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, of the State of Mississippi: Begun at the City of Jackson on August 12, 1890, and Concluded November 1, 1890. E. L. Martin, Printer to the Convention.
- ^ "The Mississippi Constitution of 1890 | Mississippi History Now". mshistorynow.mdah.state.ms.us. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
- ^ "H. M. Street Elected Speaker". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
- ^ a b "The Birmingham News from Birmingham, Alabama on June 1, 1920 · 19". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
