George de Rue Meiklejohn

George de Rue Meiklejohn
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Nebraska's 3rd district
In office
March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1897
Preceded by Omer Madison Kem
Succeeded by Samuel Maxwell
Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska
In office
1889–1891
Preceded by Hibbard H. Shedd
Succeeded by Thomas Jefferson Majors
Personal details
Born (1857-08-26)August 26, 1857
Weyauwega, Wisconsin
Died April 19, 1929(1929-04-19) (aged 71)
Los Angeles, California
Political party Republican
Alma mater University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh
Occupation lawyer

George de Rue Meiklejohn (August 26, 1857 – April 19, 1929) was a Nebraska Republican politician who served as the fifth Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska under Governor John Milton Thayer and a member of the United States House of Representatives for Nebraska. He was the United States Assistant Secretary of War from 1897 to 1901.[1][2]

Biography

He was born in Weyauwega, Wisconsin on August 26, 1857. He went to the state normal school in Oshkosh, Wisconsin (now University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh). He became a principal of high schools in Weyauwega and Liscomb, Iowa. After graduating from the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1880, he was admitted to the bar and set up practice in Fullerton, Nebraska. He was the prosecuting attorney for Nance County, Nebraska from 1881 to 1884.[1][2]

In 1884 Meiklejohn was elected a member of the Nebraska State Senate, serving from 1884 to 1888. In 1886, he became President of the Senate, in 1887 the chairman of the Republican State convention, and in 1887 and 1888 chairman of the Republican State central committee. In 1889 he became the Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska and served until 1891. He was elected as a Republican to the 53rd and 54th Congresses (March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1897), but did not run for re-election in 1896. On April 14, 1897, U.S. President William McKinley appointed him the Assistant Secretary of War and he served through the Spanish–American War until March 1901, when he resigned.[1]

Meiklejohn ran unsuccessfully for election to the United States Senate from Nebraska in 1901 to fill the seat of Monroe Hayward. After that, he resumed his law practice in Omaha, Nebraska, moving to Los Angeles, California in 1918, where he practiced law and mining.

He died in poverty at the Los Angeles County General Hospital in Los Angeles, California on April 19, 1929.[1] He was buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "G. Ded R. Meiklejohn Dies at Age 72. Assistant Secretary of War in Administration of President McKinley. Made Poor By Liberality. Couldn't Say 'No' to Those in Distress. Often Tried Court Cases Without a Fee". New York Times. April 20, 1929. Retrieved 2015-04-19. George De Rue Meiklejohn, Assistant Secretary of War under President McKinley and a former Lieutenant Governor and Representative in Congress from Nebraska, who had been decorated by kings, died in a ward of the Los Angeles General Hospital last night. His age was 72.
  2. 1 2 3 "George de Rue Meiklejohn". Political Graveyard. also known as George D. Meiklejohn — of Fullerton, Nance County, Neb. Born in Wisconsin, 1857. Republican. Lawyer; member of Nebraska state senate, 1885–88; Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska, 1889–91; U.S. Representative from Nebraska 3rd District, 1893–97. Died in 1929 (age about 72 years). Interment at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, Calif.

Further reading

Political offices
Preceded by
Hibbard H. Shedd		 Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska
1889 – 1891 		Succeeded by
Thomas Jefferson Majors
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Omer Madison Kem		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Nebraska's 3rd congressional district
March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1897 		Succeeded by
Samuel Maxwell
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