Matthew M. Neely

The Honorable Matthew M. Neely
Neely in 1913
United States Senator from West Virginia
In office January 3, 1949 – January 18, 1958
Preceded by	W. Chapman Revercomb
Succeeded by	John D. Hoblitzell, Jr.
In office March 4, 1931 – January 12, 1941
Preceded by	Guy D. Goff
Succeeded by	Joseph Rosier
In office March 4, 1923 – March 4, 1929
Preceded by	Howard Sutherland
Succeeded by	Henry D. Hatfield
21st Governor of West Virginia
In office January 13, 1941 – January 15, 1945
Preceded by	Homer A. Holt
Succeeded by	Clarence W. Meadows
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 1st district
In office January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1947
Preceded by	A. C. Schiffler
Succeeded by	Francis J. Love
In office October 14, 1913 – March 4, 1921
Preceded by	John W. Davis
Succeeded by	Benjamin L. Rosenbloom
Mayor of Fairmont, West Virginia
In office 1908–1910
Personal details
Born	(1874-11-09)November 9, 1874 Grove, West Virginia
Died	Washington, D.C.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Alberta Ramage Neely
Profession	Politician
Religion	Presbyterianism

Matthew Mansfield Neely (November 9, 1874 – January 18, 1958) was a Democratic politician from West Virginia. He is the only West Virginian to serve in both houses of the United States Congress and as the Governor of West Virginia. He is also the only person to have held a full term in both Senate seats from the state.

Biography

He was born in Grove, West Virginia on November 9, 1874. He attended Salem College of West Virginia (now Salem International University), but did not earn a degree. At the outbreak of the Spanish–American War he entered the United States Army as a private. Following the war, he earned a law degree from West Virginia University. In 1903, he married Alberta Ramage.

He entered the practice of law in Fairmont, West Virginia and was elected its mayor in 1908. He was elected as a Congressman to an unexpired term in 1913 and was re-elected through 1918. In the 1920 election, he was defeated, due to his association with the policies of Woodrow Wilson.

He then ran for, and was elected to, the United States Senate in 1922 as a Democrat. He was defeated for re-election in 1928. He then ran for the state's other Senate seat in 1930 and was elected. He was re-elected in 1936. In 1940 he ran for governor and resigned the remaining two years of his Senate term.

He soon regretted his decision and strongly considered resigning to run for his old Senate seat in 1942. In later life he expressed strong regret for his term as governor. Upon the expiration of his term as governor in 1944, he ran for and was elected to his old House seat. He was, however defeated for re-election in 1946.

In 1948 he was again elected to the Senate, beginning his third non-consecutive term there. He continued to serve until his death in 1958, after which he was interred in Fairmont's Woodlawn Cemetery.

He was a New Deal Democrat and advocate for organized labor and civil rights. During his terms in the Senate in the 1930s he sponsored "anti-lynching" legislation, but such legislation never passed. When he returned to the Senate after a term as governor and another term in the House of representatives, he had lost his seniority, although he had many friends among the senior senators. He was assigned the Chairmanship of the U.S. Senate Committee on the District of Columbia, where he became the preeminent proponent of "home rule" for the District, effectively urging that the government of the District of Columbia be turned over to its majority of African-American citizens. He died in 1958, several years before the home rule he had sponsored finally passed both houses of Congress.

Neely was known through his political career as a master orator. In his honor, Fairmont State University sponsors an oratory contest in his name every year.

His grandson is Richard Neely, an author and politician who served as the chief justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.

Legislation

Senator Neely introduced the first Department of Peace bill in 1935. Neely reintroduced the bill in 1937 and 1939. In 1937, along with senator Homer Bone and representative Warren Magnuson, Neely introduced the National Cancer Institute Act, which was signed into law by Franklin Roosevelt on August 5 of that year.

External links

• Matthew M. Neely at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Biography of Matthew M. Neely
• Inaugural Address of Matthew M. Neely

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by John W. Davis	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 1st congressional district 1913–1921	Succeeded by Benjamin L. Rosenbloom
Preceded by A. C. Schiffler	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 1st congressional district 1945–1947	Succeeded by Francis J. Love
United States Senate
Preceded by Howard Sutherland	U.S. Senator (Class 1) from West Virginia 1923–1929 Served alongside: Davis Elkins, Guy D. Goff	Succeeded by Henry D. Hatfield
Preceded by Guy D. Goff	U.S. Senator (Class 2) from West Virginia 1931–1941 Served alongside: Henry D. Hatfield, Rush D. Holt, Sr., Harley M. Kilgore	Succeeded by Joseph Rosier
Preceded by W. Chapman Revercomb	U.S. Senator (Class 2) from West Virginia 1949–1958 Served alongside: Harley M. Kilgore, William R. Laird, III, W. Chapman Revercomb	Succeeded by John D. Hoblitzell, Jr.
Political offices
Preceded by Homer A. Holt	Governor of West Virginia 1941–1945	Succeeded by Clarence W. Meadows