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Office of the Secretary of State

History


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The Office of the Secretary of State existed even before Alabama became a state. The first secretary of state, Henry Hitchcock (1818-19) served for the Alabama Territory. The secretary of state served a two-year term from the time Alabama became a state in 1819 until the Constitution of 1901 set the term at four years. Up until 1868, the secretary of state was elected by the legislature, but since that time has been selected by popular vote.

Below is a complete listing of the men and women who served as Alabama's secretary of state:

Secretary Year   Secretary Year
Henry Hitchcock 1818-1819   Cyrus B. Brown 1910-1915
Thomas A. Rodgers 1819-1821   John Purifoy 1915-1919
James J. Pleasants 1821-1824   William Peyton Cobb 1919-1923
James I. Thornton 1824-1834   Sidney Herbert Blan 1923-1927
Edmund A. Webster 1834-1836   John Marvin Brandon 1927-1931
Thomas B. Tunstall 1836-1840   Pete Bryant Jarman, Jr. 1931-1935
William Garrett 1840-1852   David Howell Turner 1935-1939
Vincent M. Benham 1852-1856   John Marvin Brandon 1939-1943
James H. Weaver 1856-1860   David Howell Turner 1943-1944
Patrick H. Brittan 1860-1865   Sibyl Pool 1944-1951
Albert S. Elmore 1865-1866   Agnes Baggett 1951-1955
David L. Dalton 1866-1867   Mary Texas Hurt Garner 1955-1959
Micah Taul 1867-1868   Bettye Frink 1959-1963
Charles A. Miller 1868-1870   Agnes Baggett 1963-1967
Jabez J. Parker 1870-1872   Mabel Sanders Amos 1967-1975
Patrick Ragland 1872-1873   Agnes Baggett 1975-1979
Neander H. Rice 1873-1874   Don Siegelman 1979-1987
Rufus K. Boyd 1874-1878   Glen Browder 1987-1989
William W. Screws 1878-1882   Fred Crawford 1989-1989
Ellis Phelan 1882-1885   Perry A. Hand 1989-1991
Charles C. Langdon 1885-1890   Billy Joe Camp 1991-1993
Joseph D. Barron 1890-1894   Jim Bennett 1993-2003
James K. Jackson 1894-1898   Nancy L. Worley 2003-2007
Robert P. McDavid 1898-1903   Beth Chapman 2007-2013
J. Thomas Heflin 1903-1904   Jim Bennett 2013-2015
Edmund R. McDavid 1904-1907   John H. Merrill 2015-
Frank N. Julian 1907-1910  

 

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P.O. Box 5616
Montgomery, AL 36103-5616
Phone:  (334) 242-7200
Fax:  (334) 242-4993
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