Snowden, Edgar, 1810-1875.

Edgar Snowden (1810-1875), from Alexandria, Virginia, was the son of a newspaperman, and he continued his father's paper, the ALEXANDRIA GAZETTE, for forty-five years after his father's death, cuting short his career as a lawyer. He was active in politics and civic affairs: he served on the Common Council of Alexandria for five years, and then became mayor, heading the city government until 1843; he embraced the Whig Party, he worked effectively for the retrocession of Alexandria to Virginia, which was approved in 1846. Snowden was the first representative elected to the Virginia General Assembly from the newly retroceded city, and he was chosen to represent four northern Virginia counties at the Constitutional Convention of 1850-1851. After his defeat in 1853, he focused on internal improvements and the issue of slavery. His Confederate sympathies expressed in the newspaper made him a target during the war, and the printing plant was destroyed by fire. Eventually the plant was rebuilt, and his son, Edgar Jr. took over the business.