Sanford Kirkpatrick

Sanford Kirkpatrick (* February 11, 1842 in London, Ohio; † February 13, 1932 in Greensboro, North Carolina ) was an American politician. Between 1913 and 1915 he represented the state of Iowa in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Career

In 1849, Sanford Kirkpatrick came with his parents to Iowa, where the family settled in Wapello County. There he attended the public schools 1854-1858. During the Civil War Kirkpatrick rose to become a lieutenant in the Union Army from simple soldiers. He participated in several battles.

After the war, Kirkpatrick worked in agriculture. In 1876 he moved to Ottumwa ( Iowa), where he was also active in the trade until 1887. Between 1876 and 1880 he was employed in the administration of the Wapello County as Deputy Recorder. Politically Kirkpatrick was first a member of the Greenback Party, for which he unsuccessfully applied for in 1883 the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Iowa. He then became a member of the Democratic Party. Between 1884 and 1887 he sat on the city council of Ottumwa. He then worked from 1887 to 1913 for the tax authority. He worked primarily in North Carolina and neighboring states.

In 1912 he was in the sixth electoral district of Iowa in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington DC chosen, where he became the successor of Nathan E. Kendall on March 4, 1913. In his election victory he also benefited from the splitting of the Republican Party between supporters of U.S. President William Howard Taft and those of former President Theodore Roosevelt. This fragmentation had also led to the victory of Democrat Woodrow Wilson in the presidential elections in 1912. In the 1914 elections Kirkpatrick lost to C. William Ramseyer. He was able to complete only one term in Congress until March 3, 1915. At this time the 17th Amendment was adopted, who prescribed the direct election of U.S. senators.

In 1916, Kirkpatrick applied unsuccessfully to return to Congress. He then moved to Greensboro in North Carolina, where he worked in agriculture. There he is on 13 February 1932, died.