Pryor Lea | |
|---|---|
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's2nd district | |
| In office March 4, 1827 – March 4, 1831 | |
| Preceded by | John Alexander Cocke |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Dickens Arnold |
| United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee | |
| In office 1821–1828[1] | |
| Preceded by | John McCampbell |
| Succeeded by | John A. McKinney |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1794-08-31)August 31, 1794 Grainger County, Tennessee |
| Died | September 14, 1879(1879-09-14) (aged 85) Goliad, Texas |
| Political party | Jacksonian |
| Spouse(s) | Maria Kennedy Lea Minerva Heard Lea Mary Perkins Lea |
| Relations | Luke Lea (uncle) Albert Lea (brother) Edward Lea (nephew) |
| Children | Abraham, Julia, Centhia, James |
| Alma mater | Tusculum College |
| Profession | Attorney, railroad entrepreneur |
Pryor Lea (August 31, 1794 – September 14, 1879) was an American politician and railroad entrepreneur who representedTennessee's 2nd district in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1827 to 1831. He moved toGoliad, Texas, in the 1840s, where he engaged in railroad construction, and served in theTexas Senate. He was a delegate to the 1861 Texas convention that adopted the state's Ordinance of Secession on the eve of theCivil War.Luke Lea andAlbert M. Lea were his brothers.[2]
Lea was born in what is nowGrainger County, Tennessee, but was then part ofKnox County, the son of Major Lea and Lavinia (Jarnagin) Lea.[3][4] He attended the former Greeneville College (nowTusculum College), after which he studied law. He fought in theCreek War as amajor underAndrew Jackson in 1813, and clerked for theTennessee House of Representatives in 1816.[3] He was admitted to thebar in 1817, and began practicing inKnoxville. He owned slaves.[5] He married Maria Kennedy on October 6, 1818. They had four children, Abraham, Julia, Centhia, and James Kennedy. His second marriage was to Minerva Heard, and his third was to Mary Perkins.[6]
Lea was appointed to the Board of Trustees of East Tennessee College (the forerunner of theUniversity of Tennessee) in 1821, and later served as the board's secretary.[7] That same year, he was appointedUnited States Attorney for Eastern Tennessee.[1]
A supporter of Andrew Jackson, Lea was elected to theU.S. House of Representatives in 1827, defeating fiery anti-JacksoniteThomas D. Arnold by a vote of 3,688 to 3,316. He again defeated Arnold in a hotly contested election in 1829, winning 4,713 votes to Arnold's 4,496.[8] Arnold charged Lea with voter fraud, but the House Committee on Elections found no evidence of irregularities, and Lea was allowed to take his seat.[9] He served in theTwentieth andTwenty-first congresses, from March 4, 1827, to March 4, 1831. He was narrowly defeated by Arnold for a third term in 1831, 4,935 votes to 4,702.[8]
As a congressman, Lea was astrict constructionist andstates' rights advocate. He generally opposed federal funding forinternal improvements, most notably voting against the 1830 "Hemphill Bill," which would have financed the construction of a road connectingBuffalo andNew Orleans.[10] He voted in favor of theIndian Removal Act of 1830, describing the House debate on the bill as "one of the severest struggles that I have ever witnessed in Congress."[11] He frequently clashed with fellow Tennessee congressmanDavy Crockett, with Crockett calling Lea a "poltroon, a scoundrel, and a puppy," and warning they would fight if they ever crossed paths.[12]
In 1830 he gave a speech on a bill to construct a "National Road" from Buffalo, New York to New Orleans.[13]
During the mid-1830s, Lea developed an interest in railroad construction, which manyEast Tennesseans viewed as a solution to the region's isolation. He was secretary of an 1836 Knoxville convention that mapped out the proposed Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad.[3] This proposed railroad was doomed by thePanic of 1837, however.
Lea moved toJackson, Mississippi, in 1836. He then moved toGoliad, Texas, in 1846, to promote railroad construction. He worked with the Aransas Railroad Company, which sought to build a line from theAransas Bay area to Goliad, and eventually from Goliad toSan Antonio (his brother,Albert Miller Lea, was chief engineer of the company). In 1866, the company reincorporated as the Central Transit Company, re-mapping its line from Goliad toGalveston as part of a larger transcontinental effort. Though vigorously promoted by Lea, the company's plans never materialized.[14][15]
Lea was a founding trustee of theUniversity of Mississippi.[16]
Both Albert and Pryor Lea supported theKnights of the Golden Circle, a secret society which planned to invade Mexico and Central America and establish a massive slave empire around the Gulf of Mexico. They pitched the society's plan to GovernorSam Houston in 1860, but Houston rejected the plan, and ordered theTexas Rangers to break up the Knights' assemblies.[17]
Lea was a delegate to the Texas Secession Convention, which met inAustin in January 1861 to adopt an Ordinance of Secession, leading to eventualTexas membership in theConfederacy.[18] He was elected to theTexas Senate later that year, serving a single term.[15] During the war, he worked with Goliad Aid Association, which provided relief to indigent families, and served as a commissioner with the Aransas Salt Works.[15]
In 1866, GovernorJames W. Throckmorton appointed Lea state superintendent of public instruction, though he was later removed for opposing Reconstruction.[15] Goliad County elected Lea their delegate to the state's 1875 Constitutional Convention, but he declined due to his "extreme age."[15] He died on September 14, 1879 (age 85 years, 14 days), and isinterred at Oak Hill Cemetery in Goliad.[19]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromTennessee's 2nd congressional district 1827–1831 | Succeeded by |
| Texas Senate | ||
| Preceded by Forbes Britton | Texas State Senator from District 29 (Goliad) 1861–1865 | Succeeded by John T. Littleton |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
