Richard A. Sneed
BornAugust 28, 1845
Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, U.S.
DiedMarch 16, 1936 (aged 90)
Lawton, Oklahoma, U.S.
Resting placeHighland Cemetery[1]
Lawton, Oklahoma
Children3 sons (including R. R. Sneed), 3 daughters
Parent(s)Albert Sneed
Maria Sneed
Military career
Allegiance Confederate States
Service/branch Confederate States Army
Years of service1861–1865
RankOrdnance Sergeant
Unit18th Mississippi Volunteers[2]

Richard Alexander Sneed (August 28, 1845 – March 16, 1936) was an American Confederate veteran, Klansman and politician. After serving in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War of 1861-1865, he was a co-founder of the Ku Klux Klan chapter in Madison County, Tennessee. A Democrat, he served as the Oklahoma Secretary of State from 1923 to 1927, the Oklahoma State Treasurer from 1927 to 1931, and the Oklahoma Secretary of State again from 1931 to 1935.

Early life

Richard Alexander Sneed was born on August 28, 1845, in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi.[3] His father was Albert Sneed and his mother, Maria; they were from South Carolina.[3]

Career

Sneed joined the Army of Northern Virginia of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War of 1861-1865.[3] He served under General Jubal Early during the Second Battle of Fredericksburg, where he was wounded.[4] He served under General Robert E. Lee during the Battle of Cold Harbor.[3] He was jailed by the Union Army for two months at the Point Lookout Prison in Maryland from April 14 to June 30 of 1865.[3] After the war, Sneed was a co-founder of the Ku Klux Klan chapter of Madison County, Tennessee.[5] He served as the commander-in-chief of the trans-Mississippi division of the United Confederate Veterans in 1927, and the commander-in-chief of the UCV in 1928.[3][5]

Sneed was an active member of the Democratic Party. He worked a clerk of the circuit court of Madison County for eight years and deputy clerk of the Tennessee Supreme Court.[3] He ran to become the Tennessee Secretary of State, but he was not elected.[6] He moved to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in 1895 and worked as a merchant.[3] In 1907, he became recorder of deeds for Comanche County.[3] He was the superintendent of the Chickasaw National Recreation Area from 1914 to 1919.[3] He served as the Oklahoma Secretary of State from 1923 to 1927, the Oklahoma State Treasurer from 1927 to 1931, and the Secretary of State again from 1931 to 1935.[3][7] He became known as the "grand old man of the Democratic Party" in Oklahoma.[8]

Personal life and death

Sneed married Annie R. Bullock, a native of Jackson, Tennessee, in 1861.[3] They had three sons and three daughters.[3] One of his sons, R. R. Sneed, served as the Tennessee Secretary of State from 1913 to 1917.[6] Sneed was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and a Mason.[3]

Sneed died on March 16, 1936, in Lawton, Oklahoma.[3] His funeral was held at the Centenary Methodist Church in Lawton.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Richard Alexander Sneed". Find A Grave. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  2. ↑ Thoburn, Joseph (1916). A Standard History of Oklahoma. Oklahoma: American Historical Society. p. 1014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Rites Are Held In Lawton For Gen. R. A. Sneed. Paralytic Stroke Fatal to 'Grand Old Man of the Democratic Party'. Dies At Age 90. Former Commander of Confederate Veterans, He Also Served His State". Miami Daily News-Record. Miami, Oklahoma. March 16, 1936. pp. 1–2. Retrieved April 29, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Sneed Dies; Headed Southern Veterans". The Indianapolis Star. March 16, 1936. p. 2. Retrieved April 29, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 "Local Historical Society To Hear Atty. R. R. Sneed". The Jackson Sun. Jackson, Tennessee. March 12, 1944. p. 1. Retrieved May 1, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Mr Sneed's father, Col. R. A. Sneed, served as commander of the United Confederate Veterans and was one of the organizers of the Ku Klux Klan in Madison County in the Reconstruction Era when lawlessness was so rampant as to demand the super-government.
  6. 1 2 "Col. Sneed Surprised. Son Captures Office Father Sought In Vain Thirty Years Ago". The Daily Ardmoreite. Ardmore, Oklahoma. February 3, 1913. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Secretaries of State since statehood". Oklahoma Secretary of State. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Confederate Veteran Dies". The Wilkes-Barre Record. Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. March 17, 1936. p. 12. Retrieved April 29, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
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