Otho R. Singleton

Otho Singleton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 4th district
In office March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1855
In office March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861
In office March 4, 1875 – March 4, 1887
Personal details
Born	Otho Robards Singleton October 14, 1814 (1814-10-14) Nicholasville, Kentucky, United States
Died	January 11, 1889 (1889-01-12) (aged 74) Washington, D.C.
Political party	Democratic
Profession	Attorney, politician

Otho Robards Singleton (October 14, 1814 – January 11, 1889) was a U.S. Representative from Mississippi and a member of the Confederate States Congress during the American Civil War.

Biography

Born near Nicholasville, Kentucky, he was the son of Lewis Singleton, a hemp manufacturer who owned a factory near Keene, Kentucky.^[1] Lewis's father, and Otho's grandfather, was Louis Singleton, a Jessamine County sheriff and Kentucky state senator.^[2]

Singleton attended the common schools. He graduated from St. Joseph's College, Bardstown, Kentucky, and from the law department of the University of Lexington. He was admitted to the bar in 1838 and commenced practice in Canton, Mississippi. He served as member of the State house of representatives in 1846 and 1847. He served in the State senate 1848–1854.

Congress

Singleton was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-third Congress (March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection.

Singleton was elected to the Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth Congresses and served from March 4, 1857, until January 12, 1861, when he withdrew.

Confederate Congress

He served as a representative from Mississippi in the First Confederate Congress and Second Confederate Congress from 1861 to 1865.

Return to U.S. Congress

Singleton was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-fourth and to the five succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1887). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1886.

Death and burial

He died in Washington, D.C., January 11, 1889. He was interred in Canton Cemetery, Canton, Mississippi.

Personal life

Singleton married; his wife predeceased him.^[3] His son, Dr. Richard H. Singleton (born May 9, 1844) was a prominent doctor in Louisville, Kentucky, and a member of the Indiana, Kentucky, and Mississippi medical societies.^[2] His daughter, Kate, married Junius M. Smith and lived in North Carolina.^[4][5]

References

• United States Congress. "Otho R. Singleton (id: S000445)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

1. Young, Bennett Henderson (1898). A History of Jessamine County, Kentucky: From Its Earliest Settlement to 1898. Courier-journal job printing Company. p. 226. ISBN 978-0-598-98878-2.
2. The Biographical Encyclopædia of Kentucky of the Dead and Living Men of the Nineteenth Century. J. M. Armstrong. 1878. p. 631.
3. "1380 Otho Singleton 2". The Clarion-Ledger. 1889-01-17. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
4. History, Mississippi Department of Archives and (1905). Annual Report of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Department of Archives and History. p. 20.
5. Society, Mississippi Historical (1902). Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society. The Society. p. 258.

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by John D. Freeman	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 3rd congressional district 1853–1855	Succeeded by William Barksdale
Preceded by William A. Lake	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 4th congressional district 1857–1861	Succeeded by George C. McKee
Preceded by Jason Niles	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 4th congressional district 1875–1883	Succeeded by Hernando D. Money
Preceded by Charles E. Hooker	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 5th congressional district 1883–1887	Succeeded by Chapman L. Anderson