Otho R. Singleton

Otho Singleton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi
In office
March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1855
Preceded byJohn D. Freeman
Succeeded byWilliam Barksdale
Constituency3rd district
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi
In office
March 4, 1857 – January 21, 1861
Preceded byWilliam A. Lake
Succeeded byVacant
Constituency4th district
Member of the Confederate House of Representatives for Mississippi
In office
February 18, 1862 – March 18, 1865
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi
In office
March 4, 1875 – March 4, 1887
Preceded byJason Niles (4th)
Charles E. Hooker (5th)
Succeeded byHernando D. Money (4th)
Chapman L. Anderson (5th)
Constituency4th district (1875-83)
5th district (1883-87)
Personal details
BornOctober 14, 1814 (1814-10-14)
Nicholasville, Kentucky, United States
DiedJanuary 11, 1889(1889-01-11) (aged 74)
Washington, D.C.
PartyDemocratic
ProfessionAttorney, politician
Military service
AllegianceConfederate States of America
Branch/serviceConfederate States Army
Years of service
1861
RankCaptain
Unit18th Mississippi Infantry Regiment
Battles/wars

Otho Robards Singleton (October 14, 1814 – January 11, 1889) was a U.S. representative from Mississippi and a member of the Confederate States Congress during the American Civil War.

Biography

Born near Nicholasville, Kentucky, he was the son of Lewis Singleton, a hemp manufacturer who owned a factory near Keene, Kentucky. Lewis's father, and Otho's grandfather, was Louis Singleton, a Jessamine County sheriff and Kentucky state senator.

Singleton graduated from St. Joseph's College, Bardstown, Kentucky, and from the law school of Transylvania University. He was admitted to the bar in 1838 and commenced practice in Canton, Mississippi. He served as member of the State house of representatives in 1846 and 1847, and in the state senate 1848–1854 representing Madison and Scott counties.

Congress

Singleton was elected as a Democrat member of the United States House of Representatives during the Thirty-third Congress (March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1854, but ran again in 1856 and was elected to the Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1857, until January 12, 1861, when he withdrew following Mississippi's secession from the Union.

Confederate Congress

At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Singleton enlisted in the Confederate army as the captain of Company C in the 18th Mississippi Infantry Regiment. He left the army after being elected as a representative from Mississippi in the First Confederate Congress. He chaired the Committee on Indian Affairs and won reelection to the Second Confederate Congress, but was often absent from legislative sessions for reasons that are not documented.

Return to U.S. Congress

After the war, Singleton returned to the US House of Representatives as a Democrat to the Forty-fourth and to the five succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1887).

Death and burial

He died in Washington, D.C., January 11, 1889. He was interred in Canton Cemetery, Canton, Mississippi.

Personal life

Singleton married; his wife predeceased him. His son, Dr. Richard H. Singleton (born May 9, 1844) was a prominent doctor in Louisville, Kentucky, and a member of the Indiana, Kentucky, and Mississippi medical societies. His daughter, Kate, married Junius M. Smith and lived in North Carolina.

References

  1. ↑ Young, Bennett Henderson (1898). A History of Jessamine County, Kentucky: From Its Earliest Settlement to 1898. Courier-journal job printing Company. p. 226. ISBN 978-0-598-98878-2. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  2. 1 2 The Biographical Encyclopædia of Kentucky of the Dead and Living Men of the Nineteenth Century. J. M. Armstrong. 1878. p. 631.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Warner, Ezra J.; Yearns, W. Buck (1975). Biographical Register of the Confederate Congress. Louisiana State University Press. p. 222. Retrieved April 10, 2026.
  4. ↑ Rowland, Dunbar. (1908). The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi, Volume 2. Mississippi Department of Archives and History. p. 60.
  5. ↑ Rowland, Dunbar. (1908). The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi, Volume 2. Mississippi Department of Archives and History. p. 476.
  6. ↑ "1380 Otho Singleton 2". The Clarion-Ledger. January 17, 1889. p. 4. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  7. ↑ History, Mississippi Department of Archives and (1905). Annual Report of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Department of Archives and History. p. 20.
  8. ↑ Society, Mississippi Historical (1902). Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society. The Society. p. 258.