William Benton Boggs

William Benton Boggs
Undated photo of W. B. Boggs in his later years
Louisiana State Representative for Bossier Parish
In office 1892–1900
Preceded by	Robert Houston Curry
Succeeded by	W. H. McClenaghen
Louisiana State Senator for Bossier and Webster parishes
In office 1908–1916
Preceded by	E. S. Dortch
Succeeded by	William J. Johnston
Personal details
Born	October 8, 1854 Calhoun County, Alabama, USA
Died	February 18, 1922 (aged 67)
Resting place	Plain Dealing Cemetery in Plain Dealing, Louisiana
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	(1) Estella Swindle Jones (married 1880 - her death) (2) Lena Jones Boggs
Children	From first marriage: Mattie S. Boggs John S. Boggs W. B. Boggs, Jr.
Residence	Plain Dealing, Louisiana
Occupation	Investment broker

William Benton Boggs (October 8, 1854 – February 18, 1922)^[1] was an exchange broker and Democratic politician from his adopted community of Plain Dealing in northern Bossier Parish in northwestern Louisiana.

He was elected in the spring of 1890 as the founding mayor of Plain Dealing. From 1892 to 1900, he represented Bossier Parish in the Louisiana House of Representatives.^[2] From 1908 to 1916, he was a member of the Louisiana State Senate for Bossier and neighboring Webster parishes.^[3]

Boggs was a native of Calhoun County in northeastern Alabama, which was formerly known as Benton County but renamed in 1858 for John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. Boggs was a son of Samuel J. Boggs and the former Lucinda E. Barnett. At the age of thirty-three, he was the first and foremost buyer of lots at a July 1888 auction in Plain Dealing, located just south of the Arkansas state line. In 1880, he married the former Estella Swindle, the daughter of his former employer, the merchant J. J. Swindle. He then married Lena Jones (1874-1963),^[4] whose father owned a store on Palmetto Avenue in Plain Dealing. Boggs organized the first bank in Plain Dealing; chartered in 1904, it failed in 1921,^[5] the year before his death.

In addition to his tenure in both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature, Boggs was a delegate to the Louisiana Constitutional Convention of 1898.^[6]

References

1. "William Benton Boggs". findagrave.com. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
2. "Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2012" (PDF). legis.state.la.us. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
3. "Membership of the Louisiana State Senate since 1880" (PDF). senate.la.gov. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
4. "Lena Jones Boggs". findagrave.com. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
5. "My Hometown: Plain Dealing, Louisiana". oocities.org. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
6. The convention of '98: a complete work on the greatest political event in Louisiana's history. New Orleans, Louisiana: Democratic State Central Committee. 1898. p. 62. Retrieved March 23, 2015.