Edgar Hager

Edgar Hager
5th President, Kentucky Municipal League
In office
1934–1935
Preceded by Paul Morton, Lexington
Succeeded by Edward G. Scott, Paducah
24th Mayor of Ashland, Kentucky
In office
January 1, 1932 – December 19, 1935
Preceded by W. C. Frailie
Succeeded by Will C. Simpson
Personal details
Born December 7, 1868
Paintsville, Johnson County, Kentucky
Died December 19, 1935(1935-12-19) (aged 66)
Ashland, Kentucky
Political party Democrats
Parents Samuel Patton Hager
Angeline "Angie" Brown
Residence Ashland, Kentucky, US

Attorney and Colonel[1] Edgar Browne Hager (1868–1935) was a criminal defense lawyer known for his oratory skills, mayor of Ashland, Kentucky,[2] and president of the Kentucky Municipal League.[3][4]

Early life and education

Hager's father was Samuel Patton Hager, who worked as a lawyer in Ohio, and later moved to Charleston, West Virginia to run a coal corporation.[5] Hager came to Ashland with his parents in April 1881, becoming a student at Beech Grove Academy in 1884.[6]

Hager went on to graduate with an AB from Kentucky Wesleyan College in June 1888 as a Phi Delta Phi.[7][8] After graduation he worked as a superintendent of schools in Catlettsburg, Kentucky then resigned to pursuit law studies.[6] In June 1891, he graduated simultaneously with an LLB from Boston University School of Law and an AM degree from Wesleyan.[6] In August 1891 he was admitted to the Kentucky bar.

Hager became a prominent criminal lawyer in Ashland, Kentucky and in Chattanooga, Tennessee, working across several other state boundaries.[6] As a lawyer, he was noted for his oratory abilities.[9] In 1907, he was appointed state auditor's agent by his cousin, state auditor Wilber S. Hager.[10][11]

Hager ran in the Democratic primary for the House of Representatives in Kentucky's 9th congressional district three times, in 1906,[9] 1908,[12] and 1910. In the second, he was defeated by James N. Kehoe.[13][14] In the third, Hager was beaten by William J. Fields, who went on to become Governor of Kentucky.[15] In 1918, during the final days of WWI and its immediate aftermath, Hager travelled to France with the YMCA.[16][17] In 1929, he was designated special judge in a case in the Floyd Circuit Court between J. H. Nunnery and the Pike Floyd Coal Company when the regular judge, C. B. Wheeler, was disqualified.[18]

At the age of 64, Hager was elected mayor of Ashland, Kentucky. Immediately after becoming Mayor of Ashland he reached out to neighboring cities across state lines, such as Portsmouth, Ohio, to forge closer relationships.[19] Hager engaged in the purchase of a police radio system, funded by Ashland's merchants.[20] In 1933, he was elected president of the Kentucky Municipal League, succeeding Paul Morton of Lexington.[3] Hager served as Mayor of Ashland until his death in office in December 1935.[15]

Family, death and legacy

Edgar Hager married Lucie Vinson Prichard from Louisa, Kentucky on June 21, 1898. Ms. Hager died on January 20, 1902. By then Edgar Hager had two children, Edgar Browne Hager, Jr. (1899–19??) and Virginia Patton Hager (1901–1979). In their later lives, Edgar Jr. lived in Ashland, Virginia in Louisa.[21]

Hager was cousins with Louisville politician and state auditor Wilbur S. Hager, father of journalist Lawrence W. Hager.[22]

In his later life, Edgar Sr. married Sylvia "Kittie" Wiley of Lewisburg, West Virginia with whom he had a son, Samuel Patton Hager, II (b. and d. April 10, 1933) and an adopted daughter, Kittie Brown Hager (born 1934).[21]

Hager died December 19, 1935 of a heart attack.[23] He was buried at Ashland Cemetery.[24][21]

A Hager Elementary School on Hager Street, Ashland were both named after the late Mayor. Published in 1912, A History of Kentucky and Kentuckians describes Hager as "one of the most accomplished and cultured men ever to grace the Kentucky bar" in a detailed biography of the lawyer/politician.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Six Candidates in the Ninth District" (PDF). The Cincinnati Enquirer. 6 June 1908. p. 8. Retrieved 26 June 2018 – via Chronicling America. Col. Edgar B. Hager of Ashland a Democratic candidate for Congress has just completed a tour of Greenup county in the interests of his candidacy. In the interests of his candidacy. There are now six candidates in the field, [...] and Col Hager.
  2. ↑ Ashland Centennial Committee (1954). A History of Ashland Kentucky 1786–1954. Kentucky culture series. Ashland, Kentucky: Ashland Centennial Committee.
  3. 1 2 "Want State Placed Under Southern Textile Code". Messenger-Inquirer. Owensboro, Kentucky. Associated Press. 19 November 1933. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com . Mayor Edgar B. Hager of Ashland was elected president.
  4. ↑ "Ashland Man Is Elected President of Kentucky Municipal League". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati. Associated Press. 18 November 1933. p. 13. Retrieved 30 June 2018 – via Newspapers.com. New officers for the Kentucky Municipal League were elected this afternoon just before the league closed its fourth annual convention here. Edgar B. Hager, Mayor of Ashland, was elected President, to succeed Paul Morton, City Manager of Lexington. Mr. Hager is the retiring Vice President.
  5. ↑ "New Law Firm Formed in Ashland". Portsmouth Daily Times. Portsmouth, Ohio. 30 March 1923. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com . Hon. Edgar B. Hager, noted Kentucky orator and attorney, today announced the completion of a new law firm, in which John S. Fullerton and James P. Adamson will be associated with Mr. Hager who is a son of S. P. Hager, of this city, where he practiced law for many years prior to connection with a large West Virginia coal corporation which has necessitated his residence in Charleston for the past few years.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Johnson, E. Polk (1912). "Edgar Browne Hager". A History of Kentucky and Kentuckians: The Leaders and Representative Men in Commerce, Industry and Modern Activities. 3. Kentucky: Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 1311–1312 – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ Katzenberger, George Anthony (1909). Directory of the Legal Fraternity of Phi Delta Phi – via Google Books.
  8. ↑ Directory of the International Legal Fraternity of Phi Delta Phi – via Google Books.
  9. 1 2 "Hager May Run For Congress in Ninth District; Friends Urge Him". Messenger-Inquirer. Owensboro, Kentucky. 23 July 1906. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com . Hager is a lawyer by profession, gifted, highly educated and an eloquent and convincing speaker. He is popular with all classes and all parties. He has had wide experience on the stump. His friends who are urging him to make the race have every confidence that if nominated he will win the election by a handsome majority.
  10. ↑ "Edgar B. Hager is Appointed Auditor's Agent". The Owensboro Messenger. Owensboro, Kentucky. 7 Mar 1907. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com .
  11. ↑ "Edgar Hager New Auditor's Agent". The Courier-Journal. Louisville. 7 Mar 1907. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com .
  12. ↑ "Hon. Edgar Hager Announces for Congress". The Bourbon News. Paris, Kentucky: Champ & Miller. 12 May 1908. p. 4. Retrieved 27 June 2018 – via Kentucky Digital Library.
  13. ↑ "Hager Pushing Campaign". The Bourbon News. Paris, Kentucky: Champ & Miller. 15 July 1910. p. 4. Retrieved 26 June 2018 – via Newspapers.com .
  14. ↑ "The Vote". The Big Sandy News. Louisa, Kentucky: Webb & Ferguson. 14 August 1908. p. 4. Retrieved 26 June 2018 – via Chronicling America.
  15. 1 2 Garred, Ulysses Victoria (1957). A history and genealogy of the Garreds, Jarretts of Kentucky, and many related families. p. 154 – via Google Books. Edgar Hager ran for Congress three different times and was beaten by W. J. Fields each time. At the time of his death he was Mayor of Ashland, Ky.
  16. ↑ "Overseas for YMCA Work". The Big Sandy News. Louisa, Kentucky: Webb & Ferguson. 4 October 1918. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com .
  17. ↑ "Letters from Hon. Edgar B. Hager". The Big Sandy News. Louisa, Kentucky: Webb & Ferguson. 15 November 1918. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com .
  18. ↑ "Edgar B Hager Named Special Judge in Floyd". The Owensboro Messenger. Owensboro, Kentucky. 15 March 1929. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com .
  19. ↑ "Urges Harmony Between Cities". Portsmouth Daily Times. Portsmouth, Ohio. 21 January 1932. p. 5. Retrieved 17 June 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Council Receives Communication From New Mayor Of Ashland, Ky. In an effort to promote the relationship and more closely knitted harmony in tri-state cities Mayor Edgar B. Hager of Ashland, Ky., has taken the initiative step. Members of city council at their meeting Wednesday night were agreeably surprised when the following self-explanatory letter was received from Mayor Hager, who assumed the mayoralty duties of Ashland, Jan. 1.
  20. ↑ "Ashland Gets Radio System". The Portsmouth Times. Portsmouth, Ohio. 8 November 1933. p. 6. Retrieved 29 June 2018 – via Newspaper Archive.
  21. 1 2 3 "Hager, Judge Edgar B." Big Sandy News. Louisa, Kentucky. 20 December 1935 – via Lawrence County, Kentucky Genealogical & Historical Society. Judge Edgar B. Hager, 67, mayor of Ashland and widely known in eastern Kentucky, died suddenly at his home in Ashland this morning (Thursday) of a heart attack [...] Surviving are his widow, the former Miss Kittie Wiley, of Lewisburg, VA, and adopted daughter, Kittie Brown Hager, 18 months old, a son, Edgar B. Hager, Jr., of Ashland and a daughter, Mrs. H. L. Webb of Louisa.
  22. ↑ "Speaking at Grayson". The Courier-Journal. Louisville. 15 August 1899. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com .
  23. ↑ "Ashland Mayor Dies". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati. 20 December 1935. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com .
  24. ↑ Cyndi; JC (15 May 2009). "Memorial page for Edgar Brown[e] Hager (6 Dec 1868–19 Dec 1935)". Find A Grave. Ashland Cemetery, Kentucky. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
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