L. Irving Handy - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Levin Irving Handy was an American educator, lawyer and politician, from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served as U. S. Representative from Delaware. He was known by his middle name.

Early life and family

Handy was born in Berlin, Maryland, son of the Rev. William C. Handy, a Presbyterian minister. His grandfathers were William W. Handy, a prominent Somerset County, Maryland lawyer, and the Rev. Robert J. Breckinridge

Robert Jefferson Breckinridge

Robert Jefferson Breckinridge was a politician and Presbyterian minister. He was a member of the Breckinridge family of Kentucky, the son of Senator John Breckinridge....

of Kentucky. As the son of a frequently moving minister, he grew up living in multiple places, namely New York, Kentucky and the Eastern Shore of Maryland. He graduated from the University of Delaware

University of Delaware

The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

in 1883 and from the law department of George Washington University

George Washington University

The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...

in Washington, D.C. in 1888. He married Mary Bell in 1887 and they had two children, L. Irving Jr., and Margaret. He was also the nephew of William C.P. Breckenridge

William Campbell Preston Breckinridge

William Campbell Preston Breckinridge was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Kentucky, a Member of the Masonic Lodge, and a Member of the Knights Templar. He was the first cousin of Vice President of the United States John C. Breckinridge.He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and graduated from...

, a prominent Confederate Army officer and U.S. Representative from Kentucky.

Professional and political career

Before he earned his degree, Handy taught school at Damos Quarter, in Somerset County, Maryland, and in 1881, at the age of 19, was selected to be principal of the high school at Smyrna

Smyrna, Delaware

Smyrna is a town in Kent and New Castle counties in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, Delaware. By 1887 he was superintendent of all the public schools in Kent County, Delaware, and by 1890 he had been hired as principal of Old Newark Academy, in Newark, Delaware. Meanwhile, he was studying the law with John R. Nicholson of Dover, Delaware and frequently speaking at teacher’s training schools in the region.

Retiring from teaching in 1892, he became an editorial writer for the Wilmington Every Evening newspaper, and in 1899 was admitted to the Bar and began the practice of law in Delaware. He lived at 917 Washington Street in Wilmington, the remainder of his life.

With his retirement from teaching he took a more active role in politics, becoming chairman of the Democratic State Committee from 1892 until 1896. He sought the 1894 Democratic nomination for U.S. Representative, but lost it to Samuel Bancroft, Jr., who himself lost in the election.

Handy was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1896, defeating incumbent Republican U.S. Representative Jonathan S. Willis. During this term, he served in the Democratic minority in the 55th Congress. Seeking reelection in 1898, he lost to Republican John H. Hoffecker, a Smyrna businessman and relative of his wife. In all he served from March 4, 1897 until March 3, 1899, during the administration of U.S. President William McKinley. Subsequently, Handy remained active in politics, attending the Democratic National Conventions of 1900, 1904, and 1908, and losing an election for state Attorney General in 1904. He ran for U.S. Representative one more time, in 1908, but lost to Republican William H. Heald.

Death and legacy

Handy died at Wilmington and is buried in the Glenwood Cemetery at Smyrna, Delaware. His daughter, Margaret

Margaret Irving Handy

Margaret Irving Handy was a pioneering doctor who was one of the first to specialise in paediatric medicine. In 1945, she established the first mothers' milk bank at Delaware Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware....

, became a prominent physician in Wilmington. She practiced for fifty-five years, and was a leader in establishing milk banks for premature babies. Andrew Wyeth

Andrew Wyeth

Andrew Newell Wyeth was a visual artist, primarily a realist painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century....

painted her portrait and named it ‘’Children’s Doctor.’’

Almanac

Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1st. U.S. Representatives took office March 4th and have a two year term.

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Public Offices
|-
! Office
! Type
! Location
! Began office
! Ended office
! notes
|-
|U.S. Representative

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...

|Legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

|Washington

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

|March 4, 1897
|March 3, 1899
|

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |United States Congressional service
|-
! Dates
! Congress
! Chamber
! Majority
! President
! Committees
! Class/District
|-
|1897–1899
|55th

55th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:* Republican: 206 * Democratic: 124* Populist: 22* Silver Republican: 3* Silver: 1* Independent Republican: 1TOTAL members: 357-Leadership:-Senate:* President: Garret Hobart * President pro tempore: William P...

|U.S. House

United States House of Representatives

|Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

|William McKinley

William McKinley

William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...

|
|at-large

Delaware's At-large congressional district

Delaware's At-large congressional district is a congressional district that includes the entire U.S. state of Delaware.It is currently represented by Democrat John C. Carney, Jr., the former Lieutenant Governor of Delaware.-Voting:-History:...

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Election results
|-
| Year
| Office
|
| Subject
| Party
| Votes
| %
|
| Opponent
| Party
| Votes
| %
|-
|1896
|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

| | 16,512
| |45%
|
| |Jonathan S. Willis

Jonathan S. Willis

Jonathan Spencer Willis was an American minister, farmer and politician, from Milford, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party, who served as U. S...

Robert G. Houston

Robert Griffith Houston was an American lawyer, publisher and politician from Georgetown, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party, who served four terms as U.S. Representative from Delaware...

| |Union Republican

Republican Party (United States)

Regular Republican

Republican Party (United States)

| |12,828
7,189
| |35%
20%
|-
|1898

United States House election, 1898

The U.S. House election, 1898 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1898 which occurred in the middle of President William McKinley's first term....

|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

Democratic Party (United States)

| |15,053
| |46%
|
| |John H. Hoffecker

John H. Hoffecker

John Henry Hoffecker was an American engineer, and politician, from Smyrna, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party, who served as U. S. Representative from Delaware.-Early life and family:...

| |Republican

Republican Party (United States)

| |17,566
| |54%
|-
|1908

United States House elections, 1908

The U.S. House election in 1908 for the U.S. House of Representatives coincided with the 1908 presidential election, which William Howard Taft won....

|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

Democratic Party (United States)

| |22,515
| |47%
|
| |William H. Heald

William H. Heald

William Henry Heald was an American banker, lawyer and politician, from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party, who served two terms as U. S. Representative from Delaware....

| |Republican

Republican Party (United States)

| |24,314
| |51%

External links

Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society
Delaware Historical Society
The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle.The society...

; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965
Newark Free Library; 750 Library Ave., Newark, Delaware; (302) 731-7550

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