The Genealogy of Virginia’s Seats in the Senate
If you have been reading my newsletter for very long, you know I am interested in a wide range of seemingly random topics. This is one of those topics.
On Friday, November 18, I wrote about how the staggered terms in the United States Senate were set up, and how each current Senate seat can be traced back to this original stagger. This made me think about the genealogy of each seat – sort of a political “begats” sequence. So I decided to trace back the two seats of the current Senators from Virginia, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. (I have taken this list from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_senators_from_Virginia#List_of_senators.) I think it’s a pretty exhaustive list. Click on the link if you want to know more about these Senators. Wikipedia has created a list like this for every state, so far as I can tell. You can trace the genealogy of your state’s Senate seats if you want to.
Virginia Class Two Senate Seat Richard Henry Lee (Anti-Admin) 1789-1892) John Taylor (Jeffersonian) 1792-94 Henry Tazewell (Anti-Admin) 1794-99 Wilson Carter Nicholas (Dem/Rep) 1799-1804 Andrew Moore (Jeffersonian) Aug-Dec 1804 William B. Giles (Dem/Rep) 1804-1815 Armistead T. Mason (R) 1816-1817 John W. Eppes (Dem/Rep) 1817-1819 James Pleasants (Dem/Rep) 1819-1822 John Taylor (Jeffersonian) 1822-24 Littleton Waller Tazewell (Dem/Rep) 1824-1832 William Cabell Rives (Dem/Whig) 1832-1834 Benjamin W. Leigh (Whig) 1834-1836 Richard E. Parker (Jacksonian) 1836-1837 William H. Roane (D) 1837-1841 William S. Archer (Whig) 1841-1847 Robert M. T. Hunter (D) 1847-1861 John S. Carlile (Unionist) 1861-1865 John W. Johnston (D) 1870-1883 Harrison H. Riddleberger (D) 1883-1889 John S. Barbour Jr. (D) 1889-1892 Eppa Hunton (D) 1892-1895 Thomas S. Martin (D) 1895-1919 Carter Glass (D) 1920-1946 Thomas G. Burch (D) May-November 1946 A. Willis Robertson (D) 1946-1966 William B. Spong, Jr. (D) 1966-1973 William L Scott (R) 1973-1979 John Warner (R) 1979-2009 Mark Warner (D) 2009-present
Virginia Class One Senate Seat
William Grayson (Anti-Admin) 1789-1790 John Walker (Pro-Admin) March-Nov 1790 James Monroe (Anti-Admin) 1790-1794 Stevens T. Mason (Dem/Rep) 1794-1803 John Taylor (Dem/Rep (June-Dec 1804 Abraham B. Venable (Dem/Rep) 1803-1804 William B. Giles (Dem/Rep) Aug-Dec 1804 Andrew Moore (Dem/Rep) 1804-1809 Richard Brent (Dem/Rep) 1809-1814) James Barbour (Dem/Rep) 1815-1825 John Randolph (Dem/Rep) 1825-27 John Tyler (Whig) 1827-1836 William Cabell Rives (Dem/Whig) 1836-1839. 1841-1845 Isaac S. Pennybacker (D) 1845-1847 James M. Mason (D) 1847-1861 Waitman T. Willey (R) 1861-63 Lemuel J. Bowden (Unionist) 1863-64 John F. Lewis (R) 1870-1875 Robert E. Withers (D) 1875-1881 William Mahone (Readjuster) 1881-1887 John W. Daniel (D) 1887-1910 Claude A. Swanson (D) 1910-1933 Harry F. Byrd, Sr. (D) 1933-1965 Harry F. Byrd, Jr. (D/I) 1965-1983 Paul Trible (R) 1983-1989 Chuck Robb (D) 1989-2001 George Allen (R) 2001-2007 Jim Webb (D) 1007-2013 Tim Kaine (D) 2013-present
I don’t exactly know what to do with this list now that I have it at hand. I can see lots of interesting patterns here, but I need to think more about it.
Future presidents are on this list – (James Monroe, John Tyler).
Many famous Virginia surnames are on this list – Lee, Taylor, Carter, Nicholas, Mason, Venable, Barbour, Randolph, Tazewell, and Eppes.
You can see the Civil War and Reconstruction playing out in Virginia, as the Class One seat was held by a succession of Republicans or Unionists from 1861-1875, while the Class Two seat was held by Democrats during the same time period.
You can see the emergence of the Solid South after the end of Reconstruction, as both Senate seats were held by Democrats for a century. Four of the five longest-serving Senators were from this time period as well, serving over 20 years in the Senate.
I think this list could form the basis of an interesting Osher class – something like Virginia History in the United States Senate. I might have to think of a catchier title.