Thomas Porcher Stoney was the fifty-third mayor of Charleston, South Carolina, serving between 1923 and 1931.
Thomas Porcher Stoney | |
|---|---|
| 53rd Mayor of Charleston | |
| In office 1923–1931 | |
| Preceded by | John P. Grace |
| Succeeded by | Burnett R. Maybank |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 16, 1889 Goose Creek, South Carolina, US |
| Died | April 22, 1973 (aged 83) |
| Spouse | Beverly Means DuBose |
| Children | Theodore DuBose Stoney, Laurence O'Hear Stoney, Randell Croft Stoney |
| Alma mater | University of the South, Sewanee, TN; University of South Carolina School of Law (1911) |
Stoney was born at Medway Plantation on December 16, 1889, in rural Berkeley County, South Carolina to Samuel Stoney and Eliza Croft Stoney.[1]
Stoney graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1911 and began a private law practice in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1915, he was elected solicitor (prosecutor) for the Ninth Judicial Circuit, the youngest solicitor elected at that time.[2] He remained in that office until 1923 when he was elected mayor of Charleston.
Stoney encouraged Clelia Peronneau Mathewes McGowan to become one of the first women City Alderman in Charleston.[3] He was re-elected in 1927 and completed that term. One of his major accomplishments as mayor was the creation of a municipal airport. His administration also oversaw the construction of recreational facilities; such as a golf course, a playground named for William Moultrie, and Johnson Hagood Stadium (then a municipal facility, but today the football stadium for The Citadel Bulldogs football team).
He ran for a United States Senate seat, but lost in the Democratic primary to James F. Byrnes in 1936 by a margin of about 10-to-1.[4] During his life he swung across the political spectrum. He was a solid democrat in his early political life, but grew disaffected with the New Deal. In 1936 he gave a speech about the New Deal and said, "[A]ll of this spending is like giving a drunk some drinks to sober him up."[5]
Stoney died on April 22, 1973, at the age of 83. He was struck while walking across a road.[6] He is buried at Strawberry Chapel in Berkeley County, South Carolina.
References
edit- ^ Heitzler, Michael J. (2005). Goose Creek: A Definitive History. Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press. p. 242. ISBN 9781596290556.
- ^ "Will Resign About Dec. 1". Evening Post. Charleston, South Carolina. November 9, 1923. p. 7. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
- ^ Schultz, Rebecca L. (2024). "Clelia Peronneau McGowan: A Woman Alderman in Charleston". Charleston, SC. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
- ^ "New Deal Denied Credit for Huge Byrnes Victory". News and Courier. Charleston, South Carolina. August 27, 1936. pp. 1A. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
- ^ "Congressional Record". United States Congress. 1973. p. 13537. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
- ^ "Thomas P. Stoney Killed In Hit-Run". Charleston News & Courier. April 23, 1973. pp. A1. Retrieved January 18, 2014.