Lewis McKenzie was a nineteenth century politician, merchant and railroad president from Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

.

Biography

Born in Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...

, McKenzie pursued an academic course as a young adult and prominently engaged in shipping and mercantile

Mercantilism

Mercantilism is the economic doctrine in which government control of foreign trade is of paramount importance for ensuring the prosperity and security of the state. In particular, it demands a positive balance of trade. Mercantilism dominated Western European economic policy and discourse from...

 pursuits. He was a member of the city council of Alexandria from 1855 to 1859 and was mayor of the city from 1861 to 1863. McKenzie was elected a Unionist

Unionist Party (United States)

The Union Party was a fusion political party conceived by Republicans in 1861 to combine people of all political affiliations into a single movement committed to the preservation of the Union and to war. Republicans wanted to project an image of wartime nonpartisanship and they also expected to...

 to the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 to fill a vacancy in 1863, serving from February to March of that year and afterward returned to the Alexandria city council, serving again until 1866 and returning a third time in 1868, serving again until 1870. He returned to the House as a Conservative

Conservative Party of Virginia

The Conservative Party of Virginia was a short-lived United States political party in the state of Virginia during the late 19th century. During its history, the party was successful in electing just six congressmen to the U.S...

 in 1869, serving from 1870 to 1871, became president of the Washington and Ohio Railroad

Washington and Old Dominion Railroad

The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad was an intrastate short-line railroad located in Northern Virginia. Its oldest line extended from Alexandria on the Potomac River northwest to Bluemont at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Snickers Gap, not far from the boundary line between...

 and was appointed postmaster of Alexandria in 1878. McKenzie returned to the city council for the last time in 1887, serving until 1891. He died in Alexandria on June 28, 1895 and was interred there in Presbyterian Cemetery.

External links

Retrieved on 2009-5-13

• Lewis McKenzie at Find A Grave
  Find A Grave
  Find a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...