{{short description|American politician and lawyer (1847–1924)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = George Martin Upshur Jr. | image = George M. Upshur, c.1893 (cropped).jpg | alt = | caption = Upshur in an 1893 publication | order = | office = [[President of the Baltimore Board of Police Commissioners]] | term = May 7, 1900–May 2, 1904 | predecessor = Daniel C. Heddinger | successor = George R. Willis | office1 = Mayor of [[Ocean City, Maryland]] | term1 = 1896–1898 | predecessor1 = | successor1 = | office2 = [[Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates]] | term2 = 1888 | predecessor2 = [[Joseph B. Seth]] | successor2 = [[John Hubner]] | office3 = Member of the [[Maryland House of Delegates]] | term3 = 1888 | predecessor3 = | successor3 = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1847|12|14}} | birth_place = [[Snow Hill, Maryland]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1924|5|26|1847|12|14}} | death_place = Snow Hill, Maryland, U.S. | resting_place = [[Makemie Memorial Presbyterian Church]]<br />Snow Hill, Maryland, U.S. | party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] | spouse = {{marriage|Sarah Emmaline Franklin|1873|1903|reason=died}} | children = 4, including [[Franklin Upshur|Franklin]] | relatives = [[Abel P. Upshur]]<br />[[George Yeardley]] | education = | alma_mater = [[Yale University]] | occupation = {{hlist|Politician|lawyer}} | signature = }}
'''George Martin Upshur Jr.''' (December 14, 1847 – May 26, 1924) was an American politician and lawyer from [[Snow Hill, Maryland]]. He served in the [[Maryland House of Delegates]] and as [[speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates]] in 1888. Upshur served as mayor of [[Ocean City, Maryland]], from 1896 to 1898. He was president of the [[Baltimore City Board of Police Commissioners]] from 1900 to 1904.
==Early life== George Martin Upshur Jr. was born on December 14, 1847, in [[Snow Hill, Maryland]], to Priscilla (née Townsend) and Dr. George Martin Upshur. He was a descendant of [[George Yeardley]], Governor of the Colony of Virginia. He was educated at Union Academy in Snow Hill. Upshur graduated from [[Yale University]] in 1868. He studied law in the office of [[Ephraim King Wilson II]] and was [[admitted to the bar]] in Snow Hill.<ref name="obit">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109812372/geo-m-upshur-dies-at-snow-hill-home/ |title=Geo. M. Upshur Dies at Snow Hill Home |date=1924-05-27 |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |page=3 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=2022-09-19}}{{Open access}}</ref><ref name="upshur1900">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109823008/george-m-upshur-31-mar-1900-the/ |title=George M. Upshur |date=1900-03-31 |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |page=8 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=2022-09-19}}{{Open access}}</ref><ref name="upshur">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/upshurfamilyinvi00upsh/page/90/mode/2up |title=Upshur Family in Virginia |pages=90–91 |year=1955 |last=Upshur |first=John Andrews |publisher=Dietz Press |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>
==Career== In 1874, Upshur was appointed secretary, treasurer and examiner of [[Worcester County Public Schools]]. In 1888, Upshur served in the [[Maryland House of Delegates]] and became the [[Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates]].<ref name="obit"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/sc2600/sc2685/house/html/wohouse.html |title=Historical List, House of Delegates, Worcester County (1790-1974) |publisher=[[Maryland State Archives]] |date=2008-06-27 |access-date=2022-09-19}}</ref> In 1892, Upshur served as a delegate-at-large from Maryland in the [[1892 Democratic National Convention]].<ref name="obit"/>
In 1892, Upshur moved from Snow Hill to Baltimore to practice law.<ref name="obit"/> Upshur served as mayor of [[Ocean City, Maryland]], from 1896 to 1898.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/37mun/ocean/html/omayors.html |title=Ocean City Mayors |website=Maryland Manual On-Line |publisher=[[Maryland State Archives]] |date=2022-03-11 |access-date=2022-09-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ebb0e978e619e7abbabe0e7/t/5f0bc4aa5713c260c02c14e5/1594606766479/Scuttlebutt_Winter_2015.pdf |title=Ocean City - Then & Now |publisher=Ocean City Museum Society Inc. |year=2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919124210/https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ebb0e978e619e7abbabe0e7/t/5f0bc4aa5713c260c02c14e5/1594606766479/Scuttlebutt_Winter_2015.pdf |archive-date=2022-09-19 |url-status=live}}</ref> On May 7, 1900, Upshur was appointed to the [[Baltimore Police Department|Baltimore City Board of Police Commissioners]]. He was elected as president of the board and served two terms, until May 2, 1904.<ref name="obit"/><ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.baltimorepolicemuseum.org/images/PDF/BPD%20Blue%20book.pdf |title=History of the Baltimore Police Department (1774–1907) |last=McCabe |first=Clinton |year=2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919124812/http://www.baltimorepolicemuseum.org/images/PDF/BPD%20Blue%20book.pdf |archive-date=2022-09-19 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1902, Upshur was appointed as colonel on the staff of Governor [[John Walter Smith]]. Upshur continued practicing law in Baltimore until 1907. In 1907, Upshur returned to Snow Hill and practiced law there.<ref name="obit"/>
Upshur was an alternate national commissioner from Maryland to the [[World's Columbian Exposition]].<ref name="obit"/> In 1900, Upshur was a director of the Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland.<ref name="upshur1900"/>
==Personal life== Upshur married Sarah Emmaline "Emma" Franklin, daughter of Judge [[John Rankin Franklin]], on June 11, 1873. They had two sons and two daughters: [[Franklin Upshur|Franklin]], George Martin III (died in childhood), Priscilla and Emily Franklin.<ref name="obit"/><ref name="upshur"/><ref name="wife">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109812866/mrs-george-m-upshur-15-sep-1903-the/ |title=Mrs. George M. Upshur |date=1903-09-15 |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |page=12 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=2022-09-19}}{{Open access}}</ref> His wife died in 1903.<ref name="wife"/> He was related to [[Abel P. Upshur]], United States Secretary of State under President [[John Tyler]].<ref name="obit"/> His son Franklin also served in the Maryland House of Delegates.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109812771/george-m-upshur-dies-in-snow-hill-31/ |title=George M. Upshur Dies in Snow Hill |date=1924-05-31 |newspaper=Worcester Democrat and the Ledger-Enterprise |page=8 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=2022-09-19}}{{Open access}}</ref>
While in Baltimore in 1900, Upshur lived at 1022 St. Paul Street.<ref name="upshur1900"/>
Upshur died on May 26, 1924, at his home in Snow Hill.<ref name="obit"/> Upshur was interred at [[Makemie Memorial Presbyterian Church]] in Snow Hill.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109812699/george-m-upshur-dies-in-snow-hill-31/ |title=George M. Upshur Dies in Snow Hill |date=1924-05-31 |newspaper=Worcester Democrat and the Ledger-Enterprise |page=1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=2022-09-19}}{{Open access}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{commons category-inline}} {{Commissioners of the Baltimore Police Department|state=collapsed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Upshur, George M.}} [[Category:1847 births]] [[Category:1924 deaths]] [[Category:Yale University alumni]] [[Category:People from Snow Hill, Maryland]] [[Category:Mayors of Ocean City, Maryland]] [[Category:19th-century American lawyers]] [[Category:20th-century American lawyers]] [[Category:Speakers of the Maryland House of Delegates]] [[Category:Presidents of the Baltimore Board of Police Commissioners]] [[Category:19th-century mayors of places in Maryland]] [[Category:19th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly]]