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Scott M. Loftin Papers

 Collection
Identifier: Ms 063

Scope and Content

The Scott M. Loftin collection is limited in scope. It contains newspaper clippings related to Loftin's career, particularly those that covered his 1936 U.S. Senate appointment. Death notices and resolutions honoring Loftin at the time of his death also are included.

Several drafts of speeches that Loftin gave as President of the American Bar Association are included, as well as drafts of speeches he gave at commencement ceremonies and other public events. The speeches are organized in folders chronologically. The collection also includes a number of speeches collected by Loftin regarding law, crime, and other topics.

The collection contains several folders of correspondence, most of which is congratulatory in nature and relates to either Loftin's election as President of the American Bar Association in 1934 or his appointment to the U.S. Senate in May 1936. A letter from November 1943 is noteworthy because Edward, Prince of Wales, thanks Loftin for the courtesy he received while traveling with the Florida East Coast Railway.

A folder of photographs and two scrapbooks also are included in the collection. The scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings covering Loftin's career, particularly his American Bar Association presidency and his appointment to the U.S. Senate.

Dates

  • Creation: 1902-1966
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1934-1936

Creator

Access

The collection is open for research.

Biographical/Historical Note

Scott Marion Loftin was born on September 14, 1878, in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1887, he moved with his family to Pensacola, Florida, where he remained until his enrollment at Washington and Lee University in 1897. With less than a year of law school completed, Loftin had to return home to Pensacola in 1898 on account of his father's death. Despite these circumstances, Loftin was admitted to the American Bar Association the following year and began practicing law in Pensacola. In 1903, he became the youngest member elected to the Florida Legislature, where he served as a representative for two years. Thereafter, he resumed his practice of law as a prosecuting attorney for Escambia County. In 1917, he moved to Jacksonville, Florida, the place he would call home until his death in 1953.

From 1931 until the early 1940s, Loftin served as the general counsel for the Florida East Coast Railway and other transportation-related industries. In this capacity, he assisted Edward, Prince of Wales and his wife, the duchess, on their trip to Florida in 1943. He was elected as President of the American Bar Association in 1934. Two years later, in May 1936, Loftin was appointed to temporarily fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat left by the recently deceased Democratic Senator, Park Trammell. Insisting from the outset that he would not seek election in November of that year, Loftin returned to Jacksonville after a six-month stint in Washington and continued to practice law and give speeches within his community. In 1953, he addressed Stetson University's graduating law class and was awarded an honorary law degree. While on vacation in September of that year, Loftin fell ill. He died on September 22, 1953, and was laid to rest in Jacksonville's Oaklawn Cemetery.

In 1965, two of Loftin's sisters, Mabel L. Cushman and Josephine Loftin, began collecting his private papers and related memorabilia, contacting a number of organizations that Loftin had been affiliated with throughout his lifetime. The materials gathered were placed in the P.K. Yonge Reference Library at the University of Florida.

Extent

2.5 Linear feet (5 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Speeches and clippings that document Scott M. Loftin's tenure as President of the American Bar Association and U.S. Senator; also includes biographical and other materials.

Physical Location

University of Florida Smathers Library Building

Acquisition Information

Gift of Mabel L. Cushman of Atlanta, Georgia, and Josephine Loftin of Jacksonville, Florida (sisters of Scott M. Loftin).

Title
A Guide to the Scott M. Loftin Papers
Status
Completed
Author
Finding aid created by Stacey Wroble
Date
November 2008
Description rules
Finding Aid Prepared Using Dacs
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida Repository

Contact:
George A. Smathers Libraries
PO Box 117005
Gainesville Florida 32611-7005 United States of America
352-273-2755