Charles C. Cordill
| Charles C. Cordill | |
|---|---|
| Louisiana State Senator for Concordia and Tensas parishes | |
|
In office 1884–1912 |
|
| Preceded by | George L. Walton |
| Succeeded by | George Henry Clinton |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 13, 1845 Coahoma, Coahoma County Mississippi, USA |
| Died | November 22, 1916 (aged 71) |
| Resting place | Natchez City Cemetery in Natchez, Mississippi |
| Political party | Republican-turned-Democratic (c. 1878) |
| Spouse(s) | Never married |
| Residence | Tensas Parish, Louisiana |
| Occupation | Cotton planter |
Charles C. Cordill (October 13, 1845 – November 22, 1916), was a cotton planter and politician from Tensas Parish in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana. He was a member of the Louisiana State Senate from 1884 until 1912 in which he represented both Tensas and neighboring Concordia Parish to the south.
Cordill was born in rural Coahoma in Coahoma County near Clarksdale in northwestern Mississippi, the oldest of four children of Joseph Cordill (1816 – 1887) and his first wife, the former Mary Jane Sisson (1828 – 1860). Mary Jane died in childbirth when Charles was fourteen years of age though the child, Francis Marion Cordill (1860–1901), Charles' brother, survived. In 1868, Joseph Cordill married Mary Lu Woodward, and the couple had four children between 1869 and 1877, Charles' half-siblings. It is unclear when Cordill moved to Tensas Parish, probably 1867 or 1868, but it seems likely that he was reared prior to the American Civil War in adjoining Franklin Parish to the west. He was a merchant before he amassed a fortune as a planter.
According to the 1899 property tax rolls, Cordill owned more than three thousand acres, the majority on his Kenilworth Plantation. He had ninety mules and some twenty-five wagons. His annual tax bill exceeded $1,000.
In the state Senate, Cordill was for a time the chairman of the Agriculture, Commerce, and Levee committees. The latter was particularly important to a river parish like Tensas. Cordill was considered the political boss of Tensas Parish. He was elected parish judge, based in St. Joseph, as a Republican c. 1874, before he was yet thirty years of age. During Reconstruction, he was an ally of Carpetbagger Governor Henry Clay Warmoth. When Reconstruction ended, Cordill quickly turned Democrat to preserve his political power. The judge held court in all kinds of cases every other month six times a year. Cordill was also for twenty-five years the president of the Tensas Parish Police Jury, the parish governing body; at the time a legislator could also serve on the police jury, as both are part-time positions. Cordill's political power rested on the firm support from the white landowners at a time when the African-American constituency was disenfranchised despite the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Tensas Parish at the time had a much greater black population than it does today though it is still a majority black parish. The 1900 census showed Tensas with 1,231 whites and 17,839 blacks.
...
Wikipedia