Murphy James FOSTER, Congress, LA (1849-1921)

FOSTER, Murphy James, a Senator from Louisiana; born in Franklin, St. Mary Parish, La., January 12, 1849; attended a preparatory school at Whites Creek, near Nashville, Tenn., and the Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va., 1867-1868; graduated from Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tenn., in 1870 and from the law school of the University of Louisiana (now Tulane University) at New Orleans in 1871; admitted to the bar in 1871 and commenced practice in Franklin, La.; elected in 1876 to the state legislature, but was prevented from taking his seat; member, State senate 1879-1895, and served as president pro tempore 1888-1890; Governor of Louisiana 1892-1900; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate in 1901; reelected in 1907 and served from March 4, 1901, to March 3, 1913; chairman, Committee on Transportation and Sale of Meat Products (Sixty-first and Sixty-second Congresses); appointed by President Woodrow Wilson collector of the port of New Orleans 1914-1921; died at Dixie plantation, near Franklin, La., on June 12, 1921; interment in Franklin Cemetery.

Bibliography

Dictionary of American Biography; Romero, Sidney James, Jr. “The Political Career of Murphy James Foster, Governor of Louisiana, 1892-1900.” Louisiana Historical Quarterly 28 (October 1945): 1129-243.

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