Representative Haywood Yancey Riddle

Haywood Yancey Riddle (June 20, 1834 – March 28, 1879) was an American politician, attorney, educator, and farmer who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee’s 4th congressional district from 1875 to 1879. His two terms in Congress fell during the turbulent post–Civil War and Reconstruction era, when the federal government and the Southern states were redefining their political and social order.

Riddle was born on June 20, 1834, in Van Buren, Tennessee, to Wylie Jones Riddle and Ruth Bowers Riddle. He completed his preparatory studies in Tennessee and pursued higher education at Union University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, from which he graduated in 1854. Soon after completing his degree, he remained at Union University as an adjunct professor, teaching mathematics and languages, an early indication of his scholarly interests and aptitude for instruction.

Seeking a career in law, Riddle entered the Cumberland School of Law at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee. He graduated from the law school in 1857 and was admitted to the bar in Ripley, Mississippi, that same year. After his admission to practice, he returned to Tennessee and, in 1858, settled in Smith County, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits. This combination of legal training and farming experience would later inform his understanding of the economic and legal concerns of his constituents.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, Riddle enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private in 1861 and served throughout the conflict. During the final year of the war, he was assigned to staff duty and served on the staffs of Brigadier General Marcus J. Wright and Brigadier General William W. Mackall. His wartime service placed him in the midst of the Confederacy’s military operations and connected him with senior officers in the Western Theater.

After the war, in 1865, Riddle moved to Lebanon in Wilson County, Tennessee, where he intended to practice law. Initially, however, he accepted a position as deputy clerk in the chancery clerk’s office, a role he held for five years. In 1870 he was appointed clerk of the chancery court for a six-year term, serving until December 20, 1875. His work in the chancery court deepened his experience in civil law and court administration and helped establish his reputation in local public affairs.

Riddle entered national politics as a member of the Democratic Party. He was elected to the Forty-fourth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative Samuel M. Fite and took his seat on December 14, 1875. He was subsequently re-elected to the Forty-fifth Congress, serving continuously from December 14, 1875, to March 3, 1879, as the representative of Tennessee’s 4th congressional district. During his two terms in the United States House of Representatives, Riddle participated in the legislative process at a time when Congress was addressing the lingering issues of Reconstruction, the reintegration of former Confederate states, and the economic challenges of the postwar South. As a Democratic representative, he worked to represent the interests of his Tennessee constituents within this evolving national context.

In his personal life, Riddle married Martha G. Skelton. The couple had four children: Haywood Yancey Riddle Jr., Henry Shelton Riddle, Jennie Wren Riddle, and Rubie Riddle. His family life in Lebanon paralleled his rising public profile and anchored him in the community he served professionally and politically.

Haywood Yancey Riddle died in Lebanon, Tennessee, on March 28, 1879, only weeks after the conclusion of his second term in Congress. He was interred in Cedar Grove Cemetery in Lebanon. His career as an educator, lawyer, court official, soldier, and congressman reflected the trajectory of many Southern professionals whose lives spanned the antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction eras, and his service in the House of Representatives from 1875 to 1879 placed him among the key Democratic voices from Tennessee during a formative period in American history.