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Thomas William Ozlin (July 12, 1884 – July 14, 1944) was a Virginia lawyer and politician. A member of the Byrd Organization, he represented Lunenburg County in the Virginia House of Delegates (1918-1930), and served as that body's Speaker from 1926 until 1930.[1][2]


Early life and education

Born in Lunenberg County to the former Emma (Mollie) Andrews, he was named after his farmer father, William Thomas Ozlin. The large family included an older sister who had become schoolteacher by 1900, as well as an older brother, and several younger brothers and sisters.[3] After studying in the Lunenberg County public schools and at LaCrosse Academy in nearby Mecklenburg County, Ozlin went to Richmond for further studies at the Richmond College and its Law School, receiving an A.B. degree, then an LL.B. in 1909.[4][5]

In 1914, he married Letty Lassiter Hobgood of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, but she died 10 years later giving birth to their daughter Rebecca, who died as an infant. He remarried to the widow Virginia Masten, daughter of a former Virginia Railway executive, who survived him by decades.

Career

Ozlin taught for a year at the Fork Union Military Academy, then after becoming a member of the Virginia Bar in 1909, Ozlin began his legal career, which he classified as a general practice.[6] He also was active in his Baptist Church, the American Bar Association and the Virginia State Bar, as well as fraternal organizations including the Masons, Shriners, Junior Order United American Mechanics, O.D.K.[7]


Active in politics and the local Democratic Party, he served two terms as Kenbridge's mayor. He also won election as Lunenberg County's representative in the Virginia House of Delegates in 1917, and won re-election many times until 1930.[8] In 1926, fellow delegates elected him as their Speaker, and he remained such until 1930. William E. Nelson succeeded him as Lunenberg County's delegate and J. Sinclair Brown of Roanoke succeeded him as Speaker. After the Democratic Party's sweeping victory in 1932, legislators elected Ozlin as a member of the State Corporation Commission (essentially a state judicial post), and he served until his death.[9] A member of the Byrd Organization, he was a political ally of Virginia Governor then U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr.[10]


Death and legacy

Ozlin died in 1944, survived by his widow. He was buried at the Kenbridge Heights cemetery.

References

  1. ^ Dodson, E. Griffith (1939). The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia, 1919-1939. Richmond: Virginia State Library. p. 294. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020.
  2. ^ Jamerson, Bruce F., Clerk of the House of Delegates, supervising (2007). Speakers and Clerks of the Virginia House of Delegates, 1776-2007. Richmond, Virginia: Virginia House of Delegates. p. 127.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ 1900 U.S. Federal Census for Loch Leven District 38, Lunenburg County, Virginia p. 30 of 38, available on ancestry.com
  4. ^ Dodson
  5. ^ Jamerson
  6. ^ 1900 U.S. Federal Census for Browns Store District 35, Lunenburg County, Virginia p. 4 of 44, available on ancestry.com
  7. ^ Dodson
  8. ^ Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) pp. 613, 618, 623, 628, 632, 633, 637, 638
  9. ^ Jamerson
  10. ^ Heinemann, Ronald L. Harry Byrd of Virginia. p. 233. ISBN 9780813916422.

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