Robert C. Vaden

Robert C. Vaden (October 5, 1882 – February 20, 1954) was a Virginia businessman and Democratic member of the Senate of Virginia. Allied with the Byrd Organization, Vaden represented a district centered around Danville part time for three decades. During his last term and in the absence of Virginia's Lieutenant Governors, Vaden led the Virginia senate as its President pro tempore.

Robert C. Vaden
President pro tempore of the Virginia Senate
In office
January 9, 1952  January 12, 1954
Preceded byMorton G. Goode
Succeeded byWalter C. Caudill
Member of the Virginia Senate
from the 13th district
In office
August 17, 1933  January 12, 1954
Preceded byE.J. Harvey
Succeeded byLandon Wyatt
Personal details
Born(1882-10-05)October 5, 1882
Chatham, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, U.S.
DiedFebruary 20, 1954(1954-02-20) (aged 71)
Danville, Virginia
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Kate Paris
EducationUniversity of Richmond

Early and family life

Born in Pittsylvania County near Chatham, Virginia to the former Eliza Tate and her farmer husband Giles Vaden, Vaden had at least five brothers and two sisters, and in 1910 still lived at home and worked in a sawmill.[1] He had been educated in the local public schools, and then at the University of Richmond.[2] By 1920 he had married Kate Paris, had a son and three daughters and owned a general store in Chatham.[3] He was active in the Sons of the American Revolution based on the patriotic service of his ancestor Burwell Vaden.[4] He was also active in his Baptist church, Phi Kappa Epsilon and the Masons.

Career

Initially a merchant, Vaden became a leading industrialist in the area, as well as a banker. Active in the local Democratic Party, he became mayor of Gretna (serving 15 years before his first legislative run below) and aligned with the Byrd Organization.

Vaden began his part-time legislative career in 1933, as he succeeded lawyer and former judge E. J. Harvey of Chatham, who had long served as one of two senators representing the 13th Virginia senatorial district, but died in office. The district then consisted of Pittsylvania, Henry and Patrick counties and the cities of Danville and Martinsville. Vaden defeated E.J. Wyatt of Danville,[5] and served alongside businessman William Allen Garrett for several years. In 1936, he worked with Byrd lieutenant and future governor and congressman William M. Tuck concerning tobacco subsidies.[6] John W. Carter Jr. succeeded Garrett in the 1940 session, but was replaced by Danville lawyer Maitland H. Bustard in the assemblies of 1940, 1942, 1944-45 and 1946-47. Frank B. Burton won the special election held February 3, 1948 for what had been Bustard's seat, and remained Vaden's co-senator for his final terms. For the Assembly that began 1954, Landon R. Wyatt succeeded Vaden briefly alongside Burton, who would die in office in 1956.[7]

Death and legacy

Vaden died at Danville's Memorial Hospital on January 12, 1954 of complications of diabetes and a heart condition, and was buried at Danville's Highland Burial Park.[8] Although Danville and Martinsville had major racial segregation issues during his lifetime, as Virginia lawyers Martin A. Martin, Oliver Hill and future federal judge Spottswood Robinson had begun addressing, both in those cities and in Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, which became a companion case to Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in which sparked Massive Resistance by the Byrd Organization shortly after Vaden's death.[9]

References

  1. 1910 U.S. Federal census for District 92, Chatham, Pittsylvania County, Virginia p. 35 of 35
  2. E. Griffith Dodson, The General Assembly of Virginia (1919-1939)] p. 325
  3. 1920 U.S. Federal census for District 143, Chatham, Pittsylvania County, Virginia p. 8of 36
  4. Sons of the American Revolution application on ancestry.com
  5. Danville Bee, March 23 and March 27, 1933
  6. Danville Bee January 30, 1936
  7. Virginia. General Assembly. (1978). The General Assembly of Virginia, July 30, 1619-January 11, 1978 : a Bicentennial register of members. Leonard, Cynthia Miller. Richmond: Published for the General Assembly of Virginia by the Virginia State Library. pp. 651, 656, 661, 666, 671, 676, 682, 688, 693, 698, 704. ISBN 0-88490-008-8. OCLC 14412783.CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  8. Virginia death certificate on ancestry.com
  9. Edds, Margaret We Face The Dawn: Oliver Hill, Spottswood Robinson and the Legal Team that Dismantled Jim Crow University of Virginia Press, 2018
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