George C. Peery
| George Peery | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Chair of the National Governors Association | |
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In office November 16, 1936 – September 14, 1937 |
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| Preceded by | Paul V. McNutt |
| Succeeded by | Robert Leroy Cochran |
| 52nd Governor of Virginia | |
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In office January 18, 1934 – January 15, 1938 |
|
| Preceded by | John Pollard |
| Succeeded by | James Price |
| Member of the State Corporation Commission | |
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In office November 29, 1929 – April 17, 1933 |
|
| Preceded by | Louis S. Epes |
| Succeeded by | Thomas W. Ozlin |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 9th district |
|
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In office March 4, 1923 – March 4, 1929 |
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| Preceded by | C. Bascom Slemp |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Shaffer |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
George Campbell Peery October 28, 1873 Cedar Bluff, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | October 14, 1952 (aged 78) Richlands, Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Nancy Bane Gillespie |
| Children | 3 |
| Education |
Emory and Henry College (BA) Washington and Lee University (LLB) |
George Campbell Peery (October 28, 1873 – October 14, 1952) was an American Democratic politician, and was the 52nd governor of Virginia from 1934 to 1938. He became the second governor to be selected, at least partially, by the soon to be very powerful "Byrd Organization", led by Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr.
Peery was born in Cedar Bluff, in Tazewell County, Virginia, in the far southwest portion of the state. His father Dr. James Peery, has been a surgeon in Derrick's Battalion of the Confederate States Army. He attended local schools while working on his father's farm and at the family store as well as the Tazewell County Clerk's office. He graduated from Emory & Henry College in 1894, winning medals in oratory and science. Peery then became principal of Tazewell High School for two years, before resigning and trveling to earn his Juris Doctorate degree from Washington & Lee University in 1897 after a single year's study.
In 1907 he married Nancy Bane Gillespie, daughter of a prominent Tzewell attorney, Albert P. Gillespie, and they would have three children.
Peery then returned to Southwestern Virginia to practice law, first setting up a practice in Tazewell, but after two years moving across the mountains to Wise, Virginia. he returned to Tazewell in 1915 to settle his father in law's estate and soon joined Gillespie's former partners A.C. Buchanan and Archibald C. Chapman to form Chapman, Peery and Buchanan. he also began political involvement, chosen as Democratic elector at large on teh Wilson-marshall ticket in 1916 and in 1920 became chairman of the Ninth District Democratic committee.
Peery was elected to the Congress, representing the 9th Congressional district of Virginia in 1922. His victory was considered an early test of the Byrd Organization. Peery served from 1923 to 1929, and was a delegate to the Democratic Nation Convention in 1920 and 1924.
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