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Luke Lea (American politician, born 1783)

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For other people with the same name, see Luke Lea.

Luke Lea
Secretary of State of Tennessee
In office
1837–1839
GovernorNewton Cannon
Preceded bySamuel G. Smith
Succeeded byJohn S. Young
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Tennessee's 3rd district
In office
March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837
Preceded byJames I. Standifer
Succeeded byJoseph L. Williams
Personal details
Born(1783-01-21)January 21, 1783
Surry County, North Carolina, US
DiedJune 17, 1851(1851-06-17) (aged 68)
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, US
Political partyJacksonian Democrat
Whig
Anti-Jacksonian
SpouseSusan Wells McCormick Lea
ChildrenJames Armstrong Lea
John McCormick Lea
Francis Wells Lea
William Park Lea
Ann R. Lea
Susan Jane Lea
Lavinia Lea
Margaret Lea
Luke Lea, Jr.

Luke Lea (January 21, 1783 – June 17, 1851) was a two-term United States Representative from Tennessee.

Biography

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Lea was born in Surry County, North Carolina, the son of the Reverend Luke and Elisabeth Wilson Lea. He moved with his parents in 1790 into what would become Hawkins County, Tennessee. He attended the common school, and as a young man he was a clerk for the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1804 to 1806. He married Susan Wells McCormick on February 28, 1816, and they had nine children. He was also the great-grandfather of Luke Lea, founder of the Nashville Tennessean newspaper and a U.S. Senator from Tennessee from 1911 to 1917.[1] He owned slaves.[2]

Career

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After commanding a regiment under General Andrew Jackson in the Seminole and Creek War of 1818, Lee then moved to Campbells Station, Knox County, Tennessee. He was elected as a Jacksonian to the 23rd Congress and re-elected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the 24th Congress. He served from March 4, 1833, to March 3, 1837.[3]

He changed parties for his second term from Jacksonian to National Republican. He then served as Tennessee Secretary of State from 1837 to 1839.[4][5]

On September 9, 1850, Lea was appointed Indian agent by President Millard Fillmore for Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and served in that capacity some sources say until his death the following year.[4] Other sources show he continued to live in the District of Columbia and later returned to Mississippi and died in Vicksburg in 1898.[6][7]

Death

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Thrown from his horse on his way back to his residence near Fort Leavenworth, Lea died on June 17, 1851, at age 68. He was first interred at Westport Cemetery, Kansas City, Missouri; and is finally interred at Union Cemetery, Kansas City.[8]

Lea was the brother of Pryor Lea, a two-term Tennessee Congressman (1827–31), who was later a Texas state senator and a prominent Confederate supporter in Texas.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Luke Lea". Ancestry.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  2. ^ "Congress slaveowners", The Washington Post, January 13, 2022, retrieved July 7, 2022
  3. ^ "Luke Lea". Govtrack US Congress. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Luke Lea". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  5. ^ "Secretary of State – Executive Usurpation". Hiwassee Patriot. Athens, Tennessee. December 19, 1839. p. 3. Retrieved June 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ DeJong, David H. "Luke Lea: Commissioner of Indian Affairs (July 1, 1850–March 24, 1853)." Paternalism to Partnership: The Administration of Indian Affairs, 1786–2021, University of Nebraska Press, 2021, pp. 80–85. JSTOR. Accessed April 15, 2023. Open access icon
  7. ^ Luke Lea genealogy. Familysearch.org website Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  8. ^ "Luke Lea". The Political Graveyard. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  9. ^ "Leo, Pryor". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
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Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Tennessee's 3rd congressional district
1833–1837 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Secretary of State of Tennessee
1835–1839 		Succeeded by
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