Lester C. Franklin

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Lester C. Franklin
c. 1917
Member of the Mississippi State Senate
from the 34th district
In office
January 1916 – January 1920
Personal details
Born(1886-07-28)July 28, 1886
Eupora, Mississippi, U.S.
DiedFebruary 18, 1953(1953-02-18) (aged 66)
Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic

Lester Cicero Franklin (July 28, 1886 - February 18, 1953) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician. He was a member of the Mississippi State Senate, from the 34th district, from 1916 to 1920.

Early life[edit]

Lester Cicero Franklin was born on July 28, 1886, in Eupora, Mississippi.[1] He was the son of Cicero Howard Franklin and Mary (Riddle) Franklin.[1][2] Franklin attended the public schools of Choctaw County, Mississippi, and graduated from Bennett Academy with literary and oratory honors.[1] Franklin then graduated from Mississippi College in 1910.[1] He then went to Cumberland University and graduated with a L. L. B. in 1911.[1] The next year, he took a law course at Millsaps College under A. H. Whitfield, a Justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi.[1] He then moved to Clarksdale, Mississippi, where he began practicing law.[1]

Professional career[edit]

In November 1915, Franklin was elected to represent the 34th District as a Democrat in the Mississippi State Senate for the 1916-1920 term.[1] In 1920, Franklin was appointed to the office of President of the Mississippi Yazoo Delta Levee Board, which dealt with flood control.[3] Franklin ran for the office of Governor of Mississippi for the first time in 1923, and was unsuccessful.[3] He became the Chairman of the Mississippi State Tax Commission in 1927.[3] Franklin ran again for the Mississippi governorship in 1935, 1939, and 1943, but lost each time.[4]

Personal life[edit]

Franklin was a member of the Baptist Church, and was a Freemason, Woodman of the World, Knight of Pythias, and member of the Order of Owls.[1] He married Eulalie Frances Rogers in 1911, and they had two sons, named Lester Cicero Jr. and Benjamin Rogers.[1] Franklin died on the morning of February 18, 1953, at his home in Jackson, Mississippi.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rowland, Dunbar (1917). The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi. Department of Archives and History. p. 798.
  2. ^ a b "Obituary for Lester Cicero Franklin". Clarion-Ledger. 1953-02-19. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
  3. ^ a b c "Franklin". Clarion-Ledger. 1953-02-19. p. 14. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
  4. ^ "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Lester C. Franklin". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2022-08-16.