in chronological order
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William Blount (1749-1800) —
Born in Windsor, Bertie
County, N.C., April 6,
1749.
Served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War; member
of North
Carolina house of commons, 1781, 1783; Delegate
to Continental Congress from North Carolina, 1782-83, 1786-87; member,
U.S. Constitutional Convention, 1787; member of North
Carolina state senate, 1788; Governor
of Southwest Territory, 1790-96; delegate
to Tennessee state constitutional convention, 1796; U.S.
Senator from Tennessee, 1796-97; member of Tennessee
state senate, 1798-1800; died in office 1800; Speaker
of the Tennessee State Senate, 1798-99.
Presbyterian.
Became involved in a conspiracy
to turn Florida over to British control; when this plot was uncovered
in 1797, was expelled
from the U.S. Senate; afterwards, on July 7, 1797, he was impeached,
but the Senate dropped the matter for lack of jurisdiction.
Slaveowner.
Died in Knoxville, Knox
County, Tenn., March
21, 1800 (age 50 years, 349
days).
Interment at First
Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Knoxville, Tenn.
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John Henry Eaton (1790-1856) —
also known as John H. Eaton —
of Nashville, Davidson
County, Tenn.
Born near Scotland Neck, Halifax
County, N.C., June 18,
1790.
Democrat. Lawyer;
served in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812; member of Tennessee
state house of representatives, 1815-16; U.S.
Senator from Tennessee, 1818-21, 1821-29; U.S.
Secretary of War, 1829-31; Governor
of Florida Territory, 1834-36; U.S. Minister to Spain, 1836-40.
Member, Freemasons.
Resigned
from Cabinet in 1831 during the scandal
(called the "Petticoat Affair") over past infedelities
of his second wife, Peggy Eaton.
Slaveowner.
Died in Washington,
D.C., November
17, 1856 (age 66 years, 152
days).
Interment at Oak
Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
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Alfred Osborn Pope Nicholson (1808-1876) —
also known as A. O. P. Nicholson —
of Tennessee.
Born in Tennessee, 1808.
Democrat. Member of Tennessee state legislature, 1830; U.S.
Senator from Tennessee, 1840-42, 1859-61; chief
justice of Tennessee state supreme court, 1870-76.
When the Civil War began, he left Washington but did not resign his
seat in the Senate; one of ten Southern
senators expelled
in absentia on July 11, 1861.
Slaveowner.
Died in 1876
(age about
68 years).
Interment at Rose
Hill Cemetery, Columbia, Tenn.
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William Henry Carroll (1810-1868) —
also known as William H. Carroll —
of Memphis, Shelby
County, Tenn.
Born in Nashville, Davidson
County, Tenn., 1810.
Democrat. Postmaster at Memphis,
Tenn., 1853-60; delegate to Democratic National Convention from
Tennessee, 1860;
general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War; Gen. Braxton
Bragg had him arrested
for drunkenness,
and he resigned
from the army.
Died in Montreal, Quebec,
May
3, 1868 (age about 57
years).
Interment at Elmwood
Cemetery, Memphis, Tenn.
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Nathan Bedford Forrest (1821-1877) —
also known as "Wizard of the Saddle" —
of Memphis, Shelby
County, Tenn.
Born near Chapel Hill, Bedford County (now Marshall
County), Tenn., July 13,
1821.
Democrat. Cotton planter; slave
trader; general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War; in
April 1864, after the Battle of Fort Pillow, Tennessee, Confederate
troops under his command massacred
African-American Union soldiers, not accepting them as prisoners,
since the Confederacy refused to
recognize ex-slaves as legitimate combatants; this event, seen as
a war
crime, sparked outrage
across the North, and a congressional inquiry;
in 1867, he became involved in the Ku Klux
Klan and was elected Grand Wizard; the organization used violent
tactics to intimidate
Black voters and suppress
their votes; delegate to Democratic National Convention from
Tennessee, 1868;
in 1869, he had a change of heart, and issued a letter ordering that
the Klan be dissolved and its costumes destroyed; he went on to
denounce the group and its crimes; in 1875, he gave a "friendly
speech" to a meeting of an African-American organization in Memphis,
calling for peace, harmony, and economic advancement of former
slaves; for this speech, he was vehemently denounced in the Southern
press.
English
ancestry. Member, Ku Klux Klan.
After his death, he became a folk hero among white Southerners,
particularly during the imposition of Jim Crow segregation laws in
the early 20th century, and later, in reaction to the Civil Rights
movement in the 1950s and 1960s.
Slaveowner.
Died, from complications of diabetes,
in Memphis, Shelby
County, Tenn., October
29, 1877 (age 56 years, 108
days).
Original interment at Elmwood
Cemetery, Memphis, Tenn.; reinterment in 1904 at Health Sciences Park, Memphis, Tenn.; memorial monument at Myrtle
Hill Cemetery, Rome, Ga.; memorial monument at Live
Oak Cemetery, Selma, Ala.
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William Nathaniel Porter (1812-1867) —
also known as Nathaniel Porter —
of Tennessee.
Born in Henry
County, Tenn., December
15, 1812.
Colonel in the Confederate Army during the Civil War; member of Tennessee
state house of representatives, 1866.
With others, tried to stop
the ratification of the 14th Amendment in 1866 by staying away
and preventing a quorum; this tactic was not successful. Expelled
from the Tennessee House a few days later.
Died in Henry
County, Tenn., June 11,
1867 (age 54 years, 178
days).
Interment at Poplar
Grove Cemetery, Henry County, Tenn.
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Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) —
of Carthage, Moore
County, N.C.; Greeneville, Greene
County, Tenn.
Born in Raleigh, Wake
County, N.C., December
29, 1808.
Mayor
of Greeneville, Tenn., 1830; member of Tennessee
state house of representatives, 1835; member of Tennessee
state senate, 1841; U.S.
Representative from Tennessee 1st District, 1843-53; Governor of
Tennessee, 1853-57, 1862-65; U.S.
Senator from Tennessee, 1857-62, 1875; died in office 1875; Vice
President of the United States, 1865; President
of the United States, 1865-69; candidate for Democratic
nomination for President, 1868.
Member, Freemasons;
Knights
Templar.
In 1868, was impeached
by the House of Representatives; tried
and acquitted by the Senate, which voted 35 to 19 (short of the
required two-thirds) on three of the eleven articles of impeachment.
Slaveowner.
Died, after a series of strokes,
at his daughter's home in Carter
County, Tenn., July 31,
1875 (age 66 years, 214
days).
Interment at Andrew
Johnson National Cemetery, Greeneville, Tenn.
| |
Relatives:
Married, May 17,
1827, to Eliza
Johnson; father of Martha Johnson (who married David
Trotter Patterson). |
| | Political family: Johnson
family of Greeneville, Tennessee. |
| | Cross-reference: Edmund
G. Ross — George
T. Brown — Christopher
G. Memminger — Thomas
Overton Moore — John
W. Chanler |
| | See also congressional
biography — Govtrack.us
page — National
Governors Association biography — Wikipedia
article — NNDB
dossier — Find-A-Grave
memorial — OurCampaigns
candidate detail |
| | Books about Andrew Johnson: Hans L.
Trefousse, Andrew
Johnson: A Biography — Howard Means, The
Avenger Takes His Place: Andrew Johnson and the 45 Days That Changed
the Nation — Paul H. Bergeron, Andrew
Johnson's Civil War and Reconstruction — Mary Malone,
Andrew
Johnson (for young readers) |
| | Critical books about Andrew Johnson:
Nathan Miller, Star-Spangled
Men : America's Ten Worst Presidents |
| | Image source: James G. Blaine, Twenty
Years of Congress, vol. 2 (1886) |
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Marshall Tate Polk (1831-1884) —
also known as M. T. Polk —
of Bolivar, Hardeman
County, Tenn.
Born in Charlotte, Mecklenburg
County, N.C., May 15,
1831.
Democrat. Colonel in the Confederate Army during the Civil War;
delegate to Democratic National Convention from Tennessee, 1876;
Tennessee
state treasurer, 1877-83.
Wounded at the Battle of Shiloh, during the Civil War, and lost a
leg. In 1883, a $400,000 shortfall was was discovered
in the state treasury. Polk fled
to Texas, was arrested
there, and brought back to Nashville for trial.
Charged
with embezzlement,
he pleaded not guilty -- his lawyer argued he was only guilty of
"default of pay" -- but was convicted,
sentenced
to twenty years in prison,
and fined.
Imprisonment was delayed pending his appeal, and he died in the
meantime.
Died in Bolivar, Hardeman
County, Tenn., February
20, 1884 (age 52 years, 281
days).
Interment at Polk
Cemetery, Bolivar, Tenn.
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Edward Hull Crump (1874-1954) —
also known as Edward H. Crump; Ed Crump; "Boss
Crump" —
of Memphis, Shelby
County, Tenn.
Born near Holly Springs, Marshall
County, Miss., October
2, 1874.
Democrat. Head, E. H. Crump Buggy
Manufacturing Co.; president, E. H. Crump & Co. (involved in banking,
real
estate, and insurance);
mayor
of Memphis, Tenn., 1910-16, 1940; resigned 1916; proceedings were
brought for his ouster
as mayor in 1915-16, based on charges
that he failed to
enforce state liquor
laws; when the ouster suit was upheld by the state supreme court,
he resigned;
Shelby
County Treasurer, 1917-23; delegate to Democratic National
Convention from Tennessee, 1924,
1928,
1932,
1936,
1940,
1944;
U.S.
Representative from Tennessee, 1931-35 (10th District 1931-33,
9th District 1933-35); member of Democratic
National Committee from Tennessee, 1936-45.
Died in Memphis, Shelby
County, Tenn., October
16, 1954 (age 80 years, 14
days).
Interment at Elmwood
Cemetery, Memphis, Tenn.
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Luke Lea (1879-1945) —
of Nashville, Davidson
County, Tenn.
Born in Nashville, Davidson
County, Tenn., April
12, 1879.
Democrat. Lawyer; newspaper
editor and publisher; founder of the Nashville Tennesseean; U.S.
Senator from Tennessee, 1911-17; delegate to Democratic National
Convention from Tennessee, 1912
(speaker);
colonel in the U.S. Army during World War I; in January 1919, after
the war was over, he led a group of U.S. Army officers in an unauthorized
attempt to seize former German leader Kaiser Wilhelm; they illegally
entered the Netherlands (which was neutral
territory) using forged
passports; he and the others were reprimanded
by the Army; following the collapse of the Asheville Central Bank and
Trust, he and others were indicted
in 1931 for bank
fraud; convicted
on three counts; sentenced to prison,
served two years before being paroled; ultimately pardoned
in 1937.
Episcopalian.
Member, Freemasons;
Alpha
Tau Omega; Phi
Delta Phi; Elks; Knights
of Pythias; Redmen.
Died, in Vanderbilt University Hospital,
Nashville, Davidson
County, Tenn., November
18, 1945 (age 66 years, 220
days).
Interment at Mt.
Olivet Cemetery, Nashville, Tenn.
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James Patton Sutton (1915-2005) —
also known as Pat Sutton —
of Lawrenceburg, Lawrence
County, Tenn.
Born near Wartrace, Bedford
County, Tenn., October
31, 1915.
Democrat. Served in the U.S. Navy during World War II; U.S.
Representative from Tennessee, 1949-55 (7th District 1949-53, 6th
District 1953-55); candidate for U.S.
Senator from Tennessee, 1954; Lawrence
County Sheriff; pleaded no
contest in 1964 to charges
related to his involvement in a counterfeiting
ring; imprisoned
for 10 months for violating a federal probation
order.
Died, in the Lakeland Specialty Hospital,
Berrien Center, Berrien
County, Mich., February
3, 2005 (age 89 years, 95
days).
Cremated;
ashes interred at Arlington
National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.
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Leonard Ray Blanton (1930-1996) —
also known as Ray Blanton —
of Adamsville, McNairy
County, Tenn.
Born in Hardin
County, Tenn., April
10, 1930.
Democrat. Member of Tennessee
state house of representatives, 1964-66; U.S.
Representative from Tennessee 7th District, 1967-73; defeated in
primary, 1988; candidate for U.S.
Senator from Tennessee, 1972; Governor of
Tennessee, 1975-79.
Methodist.
Member, Lions; Moose; Shriners;
Freemasons.
Ousted
as Governor amid charges of selling
pardons; later convicted
of conspiracy to sell
liquor licenses and served 23 months in prison.
Died, of kidney
disease, at Jackson-Madison County Hospital,
Jackson, Madison
County, Tenn., November
22, 1996 (age 66 years, 226
days).
Interment at Shiloh
Church Cemetery, Shiloh, Tenn.
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Gentry Crowell (1932-1989) —
of Tennessee.
Born in Chestnut Mound, Smith
County, Tenn., December
10, 1932.
Democrat. Member of Tennessee
state house of representatives, 1969-77; secretary
of state of Tennessee, 1977-89; died in office 1989.
His office was a target of the federal "Operation Rocky Top" investigation
into fraudulent
charity bingo games; his administrative assistant admitted to
longtime embezzlement.
Suffered a self-inflicted
gunshot
wound on December 12, 1989, and died eight days later in
Vanderbilt Hospital,
Nashville, Davidson
County, Tenn., December
20, 1989 (age 57 years, 10
days).
Interment at Cedar
Grove Cemetery, Lebanon, Tenn.
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Lafayette Christopher Thomas (1926-2000) —
also known as Fate C. Thomas —
of Nashville, Davidson
County, Tenn.
Born in Nashville, Davidson
County, Tenn., September
23, 1926.
Democrat. Candidate for Tennessee
state house of representatives, 1954; Davidson
County Sheriff, 1972-90.
Catholic.
Indicted
in federal court in 1990 on 54 counts of abusing
his power as sheriff; pleaded
guilty to theft
and mail fraud; sentenced
to five years in prison;
released in 1994.
Died, following heart
bypass surgery, in Nashville, Davidson
County, Tenn., July 25,
2000 (age 73 years, 306
days).
Interment at Calvary
Cemetery, Nashville, Tenn.
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Byron Low Tax Looper (1964-2013) —
also known as Byron Anthony Looper —
of Cookeville, Putnam
County, Tenn.
Born in Putnam
County, Tenn., September
15, 1964.
Democratic candidate for Georgia
state house of representatives, 1987; Republican candidate for Tennessee
state house of representatives, 1992; Republican candidate for Tennessee
state senate, 1998.
Changed his middle name from Anthony to Low Tax. He was indicted
in March, 1998, on 14 counts of official
misconduct as Putnam County Tax Assessor. On October 19, 1998, he
shot
and killed Tommy
Burks, his opponent for a state senate seat; he was arrested
soon after and charged
with murder.
He lost the November 1998 senate election to Burks' widow, who ran as
a write-in candidate with the support of both parties. In August,
2000, he was tried
for murder,
convicted,
and sentenced
to life in prison
without parole.
Died, as a prison
inmate, in Morgan County Correctional Complex, Wartburg, Morgan
County, Tenn., June 26,
2013 (age 48 years, 284
days).
Burial location unknown.
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