Samuel McClary Fite

Samuel McClary Fite (June 12, 1816 – October 23, 1875) was an American politician, jurist, and member of the United States House of Representatives for Tennessee’s 4th congressional district. A Democrat in his final years of public life and earlier a Whig presidential elector, he served one term in Congress during a significant period in American history, participating in the legislative process and representing the interests of his Tennessee constituents.

Fite was born on June 12, 1816, near Alexandria in Smith County, Tennessee, the son of Jacob and Matilda M. Fite. He was educated in the common and private schools of the region and pursued higher education at Clinton College in Tennessee, from which he graduated. After completing his collegiate studies, he read law in Lebanon, Tennessee, and, upon admission to the bar, commenced the practice of law in Carthage, Tennessee, a community that would remain central to his professional and political life.

By 1850, Fite had entered public service as a member of the Tennessee Senate, marking his emergence as a figure in state politics. In 1852, at the age of thirty-six, he was placed on the Whig ticket as a presidential elector, reflecting his early alignment with the Whig Party and his growing prominence in Tennessee political circles. Alongside his political activities, he continued his legal practice, building a reputation that would lead to judicial office.

From 1858 to 1861, Fite served as judge of the sixth judicial district of Tennessee. His tenure on the bench was interrupted by the Civil War, during which the operations of the court were suspended. With the suspension of judicial proceedings, he returned to the private practice of law in Carthage. After the war, as Tennessee’s legal and political institutions were reconstituted, he was again called to judicial service. On July 24, 1869, he was appointed judge of the sixth judicial district to fill a vacancy, and he was subsequently elected to the same position on January 8, 1870. He continued in that judicial office until 1874, presiding over a period of postwar legal reconstruction in the state.

In his personal life, Fite married Catherine Isabella Wilson on September 5, 1855. The couple had three daughters: Josephine Rowena, Catherine McClary, and Alberta Beard. His family life in Carthage paralleled his rising stature as a lawyer, judge, and political figure, and his household remained rooted in middle Tennessee even as his responsibilities expanded to the state and national levels.

Fite’s congressional service came at the close of his career. In 1875, he was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-fourth Congress from Tennessee’s 4th congressional district to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative John W. Head. His term officially began on March 4, 1875. As a member of the Democratic Party representing Tennessee, he contributed to the legislative process during his one term in office, serving in Congress during a significant era in American history marked by Reconstruction and the nation’s political realignment. However, he died before Congress formally assembled, limiting his active participation in the sessions of the House of Representatives.

Samuel McClary Fite died at a sanitarium in Hot Springs, Arkansas, on October 23, 1875, at the age of fifty-nine years and 133 days, while still in office as a member of the United States House of Representatives. He was initially interred at Carthage Cemetery in Carthage, Tennessee, reflecting his long association with that community. In 1908, his remains were reinterred at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee. His name is included among the members of the United States Congress who died in office between 1790 and 1899.