Melvin Claude SNYDER, Congress, WV (1898-1972)

SNYDER, Melvin Claude, a Representative from West Virginia; born in Albright, Preston County, W.Va., October 29, 1898; attended the public schools; during the First World War enlisted in the United States Army and served as a private in 1918; was graduated in 1923 from the West Virginia University Law School at Morgantown; was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in Kingwood, W.Va.; mayor of Kingwood in 1926; prosecuting attorney for Preston County, W.Va., 1929-1944; served in the United States Army from January 6, 1941, until his discharge as a colonel on January 30, 1946; director of Surplus Property for Division of Territories and Island Possessions, Department of Interior, in 1946; was elected as a Republican to the Eightieth Congress (January 3, 1947-January 3, 1949); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1948 to the Eighty-first Congress and for election in 1950 to the Eighty-second Congress; circuit court judge, eighteenth judicial circuit, West Virginia, January 1, 1953-October 1, 1971; served as a member of the West Virginia Judicial Council and had served as president of the West Virginia Judicial Association; resided in Kingwood, W.Va., where he died August 5, 1972; interment in Maplewood Cemetery.

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