Preceded by Rice A. Pierce Name Finis Garrett Succeeded by Jere Cooper Alma mater Bethel College Party Democratic Party | Political party Democratic Education Bethel University Citizenship United States Role Politician Resigned March 3, 1929 | |
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Born August 26, 1875
Weakley County, Tennessee ( 1875-08-26 ) Spouse(s) Elizabeth Harris Burns Garrett Children Virginia Lee Garret
Burns Garrett Died May 25, 1956, Washington, D.C., United States | ||
Finis J. Garrett (August 26, 1875 – May 25, 1956) was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the 9th congressional district of Tennessee.
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Biography
Garrett was born near Ore Springs, in Weakley County, Tennessee on August 26, 1875, the son of Noah J. and Virginia Baughman Garrett. He attended Bethel College and graduated in 1897. During that period he worked as a teacher and an editor for local newspapers.
Career
After graduation, Garrett went on to study law and passed the Tennessee Bar Association in 1899. He was appointed master in chancery and served from September 14, 1900 to January 24, 1905. He married Elizabeth Harris Burns on November 27, 1901, and they had two children, Virginia Lee and Burns.
Elected to the Fifty-ninth US Congress and to the eleven succeeding Congresses, Garrett served from March 4, 1905 to March 3, 1929. He served as chairman of the Committee on Insular Affairs (Sixty-fifth Congress), and was minority leader for the Sixty-eighth through Seventieth Congresses. He was not a candidate for renomination to the Seventy-first Congress in 1928, but was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for United States Senator. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1924.
Garrett also did some history writing producing How Andrew Jackson Applied Democratic Principles; An Address ... in 1927. He was appointed judge of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals from 1929 to 1937. He was Presiding judge of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals from 1937 to 1955.
Death
Garrett died on May 26, 1956 (age 80 years, 274 days). He is interred at the Sunset Cemetery in Dresden, Tennessee.