James Luther SLAYDEN, Congress, TX (1853-1924)

SLAYDEN James Luther , a Representative from Texas; born in Mayfield, Graves County, Ky., June 1, 1853; upon the death of his father in 1869 moved with his mother to New Orleans, La.; attended the common schools and Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va.; moved to San Antonio, Tex., in 1876; became a cotton merchant and ranchman; member of the State house of representatives in 1892; declined to be a candidate for renomination; engaged in agricultural pursuits and mining; appointed by Andrew Carnegie as one of the original trustees of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in October 1910; president of the American Peace Society for several years; elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-fifth and to the ten succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1897-March 3, 1919); declined renomination in 1918; managed an orchard in Virginia, a ranch in Texas, and mines in Mexico; died in San Antonio, Tex., February 24, 1924; interment in Mission Park Cemetery.

Bibliography

Pohl, James W. ``Slayden's Defeat: A Texas Congressman Loses Bid as Wilson's Secretary of War.'' Military History of Texas and the Southwest 10 (1972): 43-56.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present