Francis G. Newlands

Francis G. Newlands
United States Senator from Nevada
In office March 4, 1903 – December 24, 1917
Preceded by	John P. Jones
Succeeded by	Charles B. Henderson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Nevada's At-Large district
In office March 4, 1893 – March 4, 1903
Preceded by	Horace F. Bartine
Succeeded by	Clarence D. Van Duzer
Personal details
Born	August 28, 1846(1846-08-28) Natchez, Mississippi
Died	December 24, 1917(1917-12-24) (aged 71) Washington, D.C.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Clara Adelaide Sharon
Residence	Reno
Profession	Attorney, Politician

Francis Griffith Newlands (August 28, 1846 – December 24, 1917) was a United States Representative and Senator from Nevada.^[1]

Early life

Newlands was born in New York City, New York, on February 26, 1846.^[2] He studied at Yale University and the Columbian College Law School (now the George Washington University Law School), and was admitted to the bar in 1869.

Career in the West

Newlands moved to San Francisco, California in 1870 and came to work for William Sharon, one of the discoverers of the Comstock Lode in Virginia City, Nevada. Newlands later married Sharon's daughter Clara Adelaide Sharon. She died in 1882, eight years after they married. In 1888 he moved to Nevada to serve Sharon's interests, and continued to practice law.

In the late 1880s, Newlands and his partners began the aggressive acquisition of farmland in northwestern Washington, D.C. and southern Montgomery County, Maryland, for the purpose of developing a residential streetcar suburb for Washington, D.C.. (See Washington streetcars.) They founded the Chevy Chase Land Company in 1890, and its eventual holdings are now known as Chevy Chase, Washington, D.C. and Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Representative

He served as a Democratic Representative for Nevada between 1893 and 1903. During his service, he wrote the Newlands Resolution, an act to annex the Republic of Hawai'i and create the Territory of Hawai'i. It was approved on July 4, 1898 and signed by President William McKinley. Newlands became well known for his support of irrigation, land reclamation, and free silver. Newlands is most famous for the 1902 Newlands Reclamation Act, which funded irrigation projects throughout much of the American West.

Senator

He became a Senator for Nevada in 1903 and served until his death in Washington, D.C., on December 24, 1917. He was a member of the Senate subcommittee which investigated the 1912 sinking of RMS Titanic,^[3] and in 1916 he was the only Democratic Senator to vote against the nomination of Louis Brandeis to the U.S. Supreme Court.^[4]

Legacy

Newlands was an "avowed racist"^[5] who in 1912 mounted his presidential campaign on a platform that called for a constitutional amendment to disenfranchise black men and limit immigration to whites only. Like many suburban towns in the United States during the first half of the 20th century, Chevy Chase - the suburb that he co-founded - excluded individuals based on race and religion. Francis Griffith Newlands Memorial Fountain is named for him.

Newlands's former mansion in Reno is one of six properties in Nevada designated as a National Historic Landmark.^[6] Many notable people, including Barbara Hutton in 1935, stayed at the house while awaiting their divorce paperwork to be finalized by George Thatcher, a local divorce lawyer who purchased the home in 1920.

See also

• National Irrigation Congress

References

External links

• Francis G. Newlands at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

v t e United States Senators from Nevada Class 1 Stewart Sharon Fair Stewart Nixon Massey Pittman Bunker Scrugham Carville Malone Cannon Hecht Bryan Ensign Heller Class 3 Nye Jones Newlands Henderson Oddie McCarran Brown Bible Laxalt Reid

v t e Members of the United States House of Representatives from Nevada Territorial (1861-1864) Cradlebaugh Mott At-large seat (1864-1983) Worthington Ashley Fitch Kendall Ashley Fitch Woodburn Wren Daggett Cassidy Woodburn Bartine Newlands Van Duzer Bartlett Roberts Evans Arentz Richards Arentz Scrugham Sullivan Bunker Russell Baring Young Baring Towell Santini 1st district (1983-present) Reid Bilbray Ensign Berkley 2nd district (1983-present) Vucanovich Gibbons Heller Amodei 3rd district (2003-present) Porter Titus Heck