# 1896–1900 Mississippi Legislature

The 1896–1900 Mississippi Legislature met in three sessions between 1896 and 1900.
Members were elected on November 7, 1895, to a four-year term. A vast majority of legislators elected were members of the Democratic Party.

## Sessions

The first session of the term, and the state's 73rd overall, started on January 7, 1896, for both houses. The House adjourned on March 16, 1896, and the Senate adjourned on March 24, 1896.
The second session of the term, and the state's 74th overall, was a special session called by Governor Anselm J. McLaurin. It convened for both houses on April 27, 1897, and the House adjourned on May 27, 1897.
The third and final session of the term (the state's 75th) first met on January 4, 1898. The session adjourned on February 11, 1898.
The legislative term officially ended when members were sworn in for the 1900–1904 Legislature on January 2, 1900.

## Personnel

The Senate had 45 members from 38 districts. James T. Harrison from the 25th District was elected President Pro Tempore, defeating 12th District senator William Gwin Kiger in a 25–20 vote.
The House had 133 members representing different counties of Mississippi. James F. McCool of Attala County was elected to the position of Speaker of the House near-unanimously, with 126 members voting for him and 7 members absent or not voting. When the 1897 session began, 7 new members were sworn in to replace six members who had resigned and one member (Carroll Cooper) who had died in-between sessions. At the beginning of the 1898 session, four new members were sworn in, all replacing members who had died after the 1897 session.

## Officers
### Senate
#### Presiding Officer

| Position | Name | Party | District |
| President | J. H. Jones | Democratic Party | n/a |
| President Pro Tempore | James T. Harrison | Democratic Party | 25 |

### House of Representatives
#### Presiding Officer

| Position | Name | Party | County |
| Speaker of the House | James F. McCool | Democratic Party | Attala |

## Senate

| District Number | Senator Name |
| 1 | E. J. Bowers |
| 2 | Truman Gray |
| 3 | T. A. Wood |
| 4 | G. W. Ellis |
| 5 | Alexander Price |
| 6 | W. B. Mixon |
| 7 | W. F. Love |
| 8 | A. E. Weathersby |
| 9 | James A. Clinton |
| 10 | J. M. Taylor |
| 11 | E. A. Rowan |
| 12 | B. H. Wells |
| 12 | W. G. Kiger |
| 12 | Murray F. Smith |
| 13 | G. A. McIlhenny |
| 14 | W. H. Hardy |
| 15 | H. D. Moore |
| 16 | Walter Price |
| 17 | Irvin Miller |
| 18 | Clarence B. Greaves |
| 19 | A. M. Hicks |
| 20 | H. J. McLaurin |
| 21 | E. F. Noel |
| 22 | J. C. Clark |
| 23 | N. Q. Adams |
| 24 | T. L. Lamb |
| 25 | James T. Harrison |
| 26 | T. H. Somerville |
| 27 | A. C. Bramlett |
| 28 | E. L. Brewer |
| 29 | W. R. Trigg |
| 29 | A. Lewenthall |
| 30 | E. H. Moore |
| 31 | C. B. Mitchell |
| 31 | J. M. Byars |
| 32 | J. W. T. Falkner |
| 33 | L. F. Rainwater |
| 34 | J. V. Cook |
| 35 | W. T. Nesbit |
| 36 | Will T. McDonald |
| 36 | W. A. Boyd |
| 36 | M. J. McKinney |
| 37 | Carroll Kendrick |
| 38 | H. F. Broyles |
| 38 | F. M. Gregory |

## House

| County | Representative Name |
| Adams | James Pipes |
| Adams | W. A. Killingsworth |
| Alcorn | T. H. Underwood |
| Alcorn | W. J. Lamb |
| Amite | C. H. Frith |
| Amite | T. P. Street |
| Attala | James F. McCool |
| Attala | J. F. Allen |
| Benton | J. B. Blackwell |
| Bolivar | Whit Blanchard |
| Bolivar | J. S. Hicks |
| Calhoun | J. I. Ballinger |
| Calhoun | James Revis |
| Carroll | Monroe McClurg (1896) |
| Carroll | W. T. Stevens (1896) |
| Carroll | S. E. Turner (1897–1900) |
| Carroll | Lewis S. Hemphill (1897–1900) |
| Chickasaw | W. G. Stovall |
| Chickasaw | J. A. McArthur |
| Choctaw | R. K. Prewitt |
| Claiborne | Milton R. Jones |
| Clarke | John L. Buckley |
| Clay | Frank A. Critz |
| Clay | J. S. Goodwin |
| Coahoma | J. Alcorn Glover |
| Coahoma | F. A. Montgomery (1896) |
| Coahoma | W. C. Weathersby (1897–1900) |
| Copiah | J. G. Ainsworth |
| Copiah | Joel Lilly |
| Copiah | J. F. Sexton |
| Covington | A. K. Worthy |
| DeSoto | Mial Wall |
| DeSoto | Carroll Cooper (1896) |
| DeSoto | W. H. Rollins (1897–1900) |
| Franklin | R. S. Butler |
| Greene | John A. Smith |
| Grenada | William McSwine (1896–1897) |
| Grenada | L. M. Mays (1898–1900) |
| Hancock | George Arbo |
| Harrison | Walter A. White (1896) |
| Harrison | C. C. Sweatman (1897–1900) |
| Hinds | S. S. Champion (1896–1897) |
| Hinds | W. A. Montgomery (1898–1900) |
| Hinds | E. H. Green |
| Hinds | Luther Manship |
| Holmes | W. T. Johnson |
| Holmes | W. L. Keirn |
| Holmes | H. J. Reid |
| Issaquena | John W. Heath |
| Itawamba | W. S. Sheffield |
| Jackson | L. G. Manuel |
| Jasper | R. A. Land |
| Jefferson | James C. Stowers |
| Jones | W. A. Bryant |
| Kemper | I. F. Gunn |
| Kemper | S. C. Trammill |
| Lafayette | W. W. McMahon |
| Lafayette | Fielder Webster |
| Lauderdale | A. J. Russell |
| Lauderdale | J. D. Stennis |
| Lauderdale | W. R. Denton |
| Lawrence | P. Z. Jones (1896) |
| Lawrence | G. W. Johnston (1897–1900) |
| Leake | Asa H. Langston |
| Lee | H. C. Medford |
| Lee | O. L. Kennedy |
| Leflore | S. R. Coleman |
| Lincoln | Eli Cowart |
| Lowndes | M. A. Franklin |
| Lowndes | J. C. Neilson |
| Lowndes | J. B. Harrington |
| Madison | J. N. Lipscomb |
| Madison | J. B. Martin |
| Marion | N. C. Hathorn |
| Marshall | J. W. Boatwright |
| Marshall | John T. Brown |
| Marshall | R. A. Baird |
| Monroe | R. E. Houston |
| Monroe | A. J. Smith |
| Monroe | Frank L. Bott |
| Montgomery | J. P. Taylor |
| Neshoba | A. M. Byrd (1896) |
| Neshoba | O. L. Williams (1897–1900) |
| Newton | Thomas Keith |
| Newton | J. A. Leach |
| Noxubee | John R. Dinsmore |
| Noxubee | W. S. Permenter |
| Noxubee | DeForest Allgood |
| Oktibbeha | J. G. Carroll |
| Oktibbeha | J. W. Crumpton |
| Panola | J. L. Knox |
| Panola | S. R. Lamb |
| Panola | H. H. Parnell |
| Pearl River | J. M. Shivers |
| Perry | S. T. Garraway |
| Pike | W. W. Pope |
| Pike | J. B. Webb |
| Pontotoc | W. T. Stegall |
| Pontotoc | W. T. Holmes |
| Prentiss | W. M. Cox |
| Prentiss | J. T. Blanchard |
| Quitman | James R. Turner (1896–1897) |
| Quitman | M. E. Denton (1898–1900) |
| Rankin | Iddo Lewis |
| Rankin | J. Sol Roberts |
| Scott | W. L. Weems |
| Sharkey | A. Miller |
| Simpson | T. N. Touchstone |
| Smith | J. S. Eaton |
| Sunflower | P. C. Chapman |
| Tallahatchie | William Steele |
| Tate | W. J. East |
| Tate | T. C. House |
| Tippah | A. J. Richardson |
| Tishomingo | D. L. Ross |
| Tunica | Richard Abbay |
| Union | R. S. Bell |
| Union | G. L. Jones |
| Warren | George Anderson |
| Warren | J. W. Collier |
| Warren | Charles Ehrman |
| Washington | James R. Yerger |
| Washington | E. N. Thomas |
| Washington | S. M. Shankle |
| Wayne | F. M. Sheppard |
| Webster | H. H. Fox |
| Wilkinson | W. P. S. Ventress |
| Wilkinson | T. M. Whetstone |
| Winston | John D. Doss |
| Yalobusha | W. A. Herring |
| Yalobusha | James Moore |
| Yazoo | Z. P. Stutts |
| Yazoo | W. W. Coody |
| Yazoo | F. Caruthers |
| From Flotorial Districts ||
| Claiborne and Jefferson | W. D. Torrey |
| Clarke and Jasper | S. F. Thigpen |
| Franklin and Lincoln | Edward Smith |
| Grenada and Montgomery | W. S. P. Doty |
| Harrison and Jackson | M. A. Dees |
| Hinds and Yazoo | Clay Sharkey |
| Leake and Winston | G. H. Blocker |
| Lee and Itawamba | A. N. Wilson (1896–1897) |
| Lee and Itawamba | W. D. Anderson (1898–1900) |
| Tippah and Benton | Allen Talbot |