Jerry Simpson
Jerry Simpson | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kansas's 7th district | |
In office March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1895 | |
Preceded by | Samuel R. Peters |
Succeeded by | Chester I. Long |
In office March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1899 | |
Preceded by | Chester I. Long |
Succeeded by | Chester I. Long |
Personal details | |
Born | Populist | March 31, 1842
Signature | |
Jeremiah Simpson (March 31, 1842 – October 23, 1905), nicknamed "Sockless Jerry" Simpson, was an American politician from the U.S. state of Kansas. An old-style populist, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives three times. He was a Georgist and former greenbacker.[1]
Early life
Born in Prince Edward Island, Canada, Simpson moved with his family to Oneida County, New York when he was six. Although he did poorly in school, he was very intelligent and a voracious reader. During the Civil War, he served in the Illinois Volunteer Infantry, but was discharged for medical reasons.
After the war, Simpson moved to Indiana, where he signed on as a deckhand on a steamship that traversed the Great Lakes. By the time he had risen to the position of captain, he had married and started a family. Deciding to live a more stationary life, he moved to Jackson County, Kansas and bought himself a farm.
Later life
He married in 1870. In the late 1870s, a combination of hard times for farming in general and the death of his child in a sawmill accident drove Simpson to move south, to Barber County, Kansas, where he bought a ranch and a herd of cattle.[2]
In late 1883 and early 1884, a long, hard winter killed his entire herd, and Simpson was reduced to working as the town
In 1889, the price of
Simpson's Republican opponent was Colonel
In Congress, Simpson was a forceful advocate for populist causes and became nationally known as the party's congressional leader. In 1892, he was re-elected by a slim 2,000-vote majority, running slightly behind James Weaver, the party's presidential nominee, who had also managed to seize the Democratic ballot line in Kansas. By 1894, however, the party's fortunes had already started to wane, and he was turned out of office in favor of Republican Chester I. Long in a close race.
Undaunted, Simpson returned in 1896, running hard against Long and upsetting him to win back his House seat. It didn't last, however, and Long defeated him once again in the election of 1898.[6]
Deciding that he had lost his taste for farming, Simpson moved to
References
- ISBN 978-0205790449.
- ^ "Jeremiah Simpson - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society".
- ^ "Simpson, Jerry - KS-Cyclopedia - 1912". Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
- ^ "Sockless Jerry Simpson | AMERICAN HERITAGE".
- ^ "Sockless Jerry rides again — Kansas Liberty". Archived from the original on October 5, 2008.
- ^ "Jeremiah Simpson - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society". www.kshs.org. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
- ^ "Jerry Simpson dies after a long illness" (PDF). The New York Times. October 24, 1905. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
External links
- United States Congress. "Jerry Simpson (id: S000432)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Jeremiah "Sockless Jerry" Simpson, Kansas Memory
- Jerry Simpson at Find a Grave
- "Jerry Simpson: The people's voice", Central States Speech Journal, Volume 14, Issue 2, 1963
- "Jerry Simpson: Populist Without Principle", Karel Denis Bicha, The Journal of American History, Vol. 54, No. 2 (Sep., 1967), pp. 291–306