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George W. Dargan

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George W. Dargan
Portrait of Dargan by Charles Milton Bell, taken between 1873 and 1890
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Carolina's 6th district
In office
March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1891
Preceded byDistrict re-established
William W. Boyce (1860)
Succeeded byEli T. Stackhouse
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives
In office
1877–1878
Personal details
BornGeorge William Dargan
(1841-05-11)May 11, 1841
Darlington, South Carolina, US
DiedJune 29, 1898(1898-06-29) (aged 57)
Darlington, South Carolina, US
PartyDemocratic
RelationsLemuel Benton
(great-grandfather)
Julius A. Dargan (uncle)
OccupationPolitician, lawyer
Military service
Allegiance Confederate States of America
Branch/serviceConfederate States Army
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

George William Dargan (May 11, 1841 – June 29, 1898) was an American politician and lawyer. A Democrat, he was a member of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina.

Biography

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Dargan was born on May 11, 1841, at "Sleepy Hollow", near Darlington, South Carolina,[1] the son of William Edwin Dargan and Sarah (née DuBose) Dargan.[2] He was the great-grandson of planter Lemuel Benton[1] and the nephew of lawyer Julius A. Dargan.[2]

Educated at local schools, Dargan attended The Citadel. During the American Civil War, he served in the Confederate States Army. After the war, he read law, and in 1872, was admitted to the bar, after which he began practicing law in Darlington. In 1880, he was made solicitor for the 4th South Carolina Circuit Court District.[1] He was later a chancellor.[3][4]

Dargan was a Democrat.[5] In 1877 and 1878, he was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1883, to March 3, 1891, representing South Carolina's 6th district. He was not nominated for the following election.[1] Politically, he was liberal[6] and supported secession.[7] In 1850, he argued in favor of hereditary enslavement as chancellor.[3] In 1895, he was discovered to have illegally funded John L. McLaurin's Congressional compaign to stop Joshua E. Wilson, a black preacher, from winning.[8]

After serving in Congress, Dargan returned to practicing law.[1] In 1861, he married Ida Louise Hunter, having five children together.[2] One of his children, Leon, played shortstop for a local baseball team. In 1889, at age 17, he murdered umpire William Marshall (son of politician Joseph T. Marshall) with a bat, after his team lost a game due to Marshall's calls. Leon was arrested.[9] He died on June 29, 1898, aged 57, in Darlington, and was buried at the First Baptist Churchyard, in Darlington.[1][5]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Dargan, George William". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2026-05-26.
  2. 1 2 3 Snowden, Yates; Cutler, Harry Gardner (1920). History of South Carolina. Lewis Publishing Company. p. 87.
  3. 1 2 Morris, Thomas D. (1996). Southern Slavery and the Law, 1619-1860. Univ of North Carolina Press. pp. 78, 79. ISBN 978-0-8078-4817-3.
  4. ↑ Shand, William Munro; Richardson, James Sanders Guignard; Shand, Robert Wallace; Efird, Cyprian Melanchthon; Townsend, William Hay; Ray, Duncan C. (1878). Reports of Cases Heard and Determined by the Supreme Court of South Carolina. R.L. Bryan Company. p. 297.
  5. 1 2 "The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Daniels-rush to Darlin". politicalgraveyard.com. Retrieved 2026-05-26.
  6. ↑ "DARGAN, George William (1841-1898)". www.voteview.com. Retrieved 2026-05-26.
  7. ↑ Perry, Benjamin Franklin (1889). Reminiscences of Public Men, with Speeches and Addresses. 2d Series. Shannon. pp. 63–67.
  8. ↑ "Dargan An Ingrato for Money". The Manning Times. 3 April 1895. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-05-26.
  9. ↑ "An Umpire Slain". Warrenton Gazette. 13 September 1889. p. 4. Retrieved 2026-05-26.
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