Representative George Tankard Garrison

George Tankard Garrison (January 14, 1835 – November 14, 1889) was a U.S. Representative from Virginia and a prominent lawyer, legislator, and judge in the Commonwealth during the mid- to late nineteenth century. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Virginia in the United States House of Representatives for two terms, contributing to the legislative process during a significant period in American history and participating in the democratic process on behalf of his constituents.

Garrison was born in Accomack County, Virginia, on January 14, 1835, into the Tidewater region’s agrarian society. He pursued higher education at an early age, attending Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated in 1853. Seeking a professional career in law, he continued his studies at the law department of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, and completed his legal education there in 1857.

After his graduation from the University of Virginia, Garrison was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Accomac, the county seat of Accomack County. As a young attorney, he established himself in local legal circles and also engaged in agricultural pursuits, reflecting the dual professional and agrarian character common among Virginia lawyers and landowners of his era. His standing in the community and his legal expertise soon led him into public life.

During the American Civil War, Garrison served in the Confederate States Army as a private, aligning with Virginia following its secession from the Union. Even while the conflict continued, he entered state politics. He served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1861 to 1863, representing his locality in the lower house of the General Assembly. He then served in the Senate of Virginia from 1863 to 1865, participating in the legislative affairs of the state during the final and most difficult years of the Confederacy. After the war and the end of his Confederate and legislative service, he resumed the practice of law in Accomac and continued his involvement in agricultural pursuits.

In the Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction period, Garrison’s legal and political career advanced further through judicial office. In 1870 he was elected judge of the eighth Virginia judicial circuit, assuming responsibility for a broad range of civil and criminal matters in that region. He was subsequently chosen as judge of the seventeenth circuit, reflecting continued confidence in his judicial abilities. Later, he was elected judge of the county court of Accomack County, Virginia, returning his focus more directly to his home community while maintaining a prominent role in the administration of justice.

Garrison entered national politics as a Democrat at a time of intense partisan and sectional realignment in Virginia. In the 1880 congressional elections, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia with 48.17 percent of the vote, defeating Republican John W. Woltz and Readjuster Party candidate John Critcher. He thus took his seat in the Forty-seventh Congress, serving from March 4, 1881, to March 3, 1883. As a Democratic representative from Virginia, he contributed to the legislative process during a period marked by debates over Reconstruction’s legacy, federal spending, and economic policy, and he worked to represent the interests of his constituents in the House of Representatives.

In the 1882 election, Garrison initially lost his bid for reelection to the Forty-eighth Congress to Readjuster Robert Murphy Mayo by a single vote, an extraordinarily narrow margin that reflected the intense political competition in Virginia between Democrats and the Readjuster movement. The result of the race was contested, and after a formal challenge and review of the election, Garrison successfully contested Mayo’s election. He was seated in the House of Representatives for a second term and served from March 20, 1884, to March 3, 1885, completing his service in the Forty-eighth Congress. His two terms in Congress thus spanned from 1881 to 1883 and from March 20, 1884, to March 3, 1885, during which he remained aligned with the Democratic Party and its positions in the post-Reconstruction South.

After the conclusion of his congressional service, Garrison returned once more to his legal career in Accomac. He resumed the practice of law and continued to be identified with the legal and civic life of Accomack County, drawing on decades of experience as attorney, legislator, and judge. He remained in his native region until his death. George Tankard Garrison died in Accomac, Virginia, on November 14, 1889, closing a public career that had encompassed service in the Confederate Army, both houses of the Virginia legislature, multiple judicial posts, and two contested and consequential terms in the United States House of Representatives.