John I. Cox
| John Isaac Cox | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 29th Governor of Tennessee | |
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In office March 21, 1905 – January 17, 1907 |
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| Preceded by | James B. Frazier |
| Succeeded by | Malcolm R. Patterson |
| Speaker of the Tennessee Senate | |
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In office 1905 |
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| Preceded by | Edward T. Seay |
| Succeeded by | Ernest Rice |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 23, 1855 Sullivan County, Tennessee |
| Died | September 5, 1946 (aged 90) Abingdon, Virginia |
| Resting place | Glenwood Cemetery Bristol, Tennessee |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Laura Deaderick (1882–1885, her death) Lorena Butler (m. 1889) |
| Profession | Attorney |
John Isaac Cox (November 23, 1855 – September 5, 1946) was an American politician who served as Governor of Tennessee from 1905 to 1907. He was elevated to the position when Governor James B. Frazier resigned, and, as Speaker of the Tennessee Senate, he was the first in the line of succession. He failed to win his party's nomination for a second term, and returned to the state senate, where he remained until 1911. Cox also served as a county judge, city attorney, and local postmaster, and spent two terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives.
The Tennessee state flag was adopted during Cox's term as governor.
Cox was born in Sullivan County, Tennessee, the son of Henry and Martha (Smith) Cox. His father was a Confederate soldier during the Civil War, and was killed in fighting in 1863. To help his family, young John worked for several years as a farm laborer before becoming a rural mail carrier at the age of 16. Two years later, he was appointed Road Commissioner of Sullivan County. He served as a justice of the peace in the late 1870s.
Cox was educated at field schools in Sullivan County, and attended Jefferson Academy in Blountville for at least one term. He began reading law with Judge William V. Deaderick (his future father-in-law) in 1880, and was admitted to the bar shortly afterward. He practiced in Blountville for several years before being elected Judge of Sullivan County in 1886.
In 1889, Cox moved to Bristol, where he served as a district attorney. He was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1892, but served only one term. He was elected to the state senate in 1900.
In early 1905, following his reelection to a third state senate term, Cox was elevated to Speaker of that body, which in Tennessee is the governor's designated successor. On March 9, U.S. Senator William B. Bate died in office, prompting a scramble among potential candidates for his vacant senate seat. Former Governor Robert Love Taylor had for years tried unsuccessfully to get elected to the Senate, and considered himself next in line should one of the two seats become vacant. Governor James B. Frazier, however, also wanted the seat, and quickly convened a special session of the General Assembly to have himself elected before Taylor could return from a speaking tour.
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