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Walter T. Colquitt | |
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| United States Senator fromGeorgia | |
| In office March 4, 1843 – February 4, 1848 | |
| Preceded by | Alfred Cuthbert |
| Succeeded by | Herschel V. Johnson |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Georgia'sat-large district | |
| In office March 4, 1839 – July 21, 1840 | |
| Preceded by | Jabez Y. Jackson |
| Succeeded by | Hines Holt |
| In office January 3, 1842 – March 3, 1843 | |
| Preceded by | Eugenius A. Nisbet |
| Succeeded by | John H. Lumpkin |
| Member of theGeorgia Senate | |
| In office 1834 1837 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Walter Terry Colquitt (1799-12-27)December 27, 1799 Halifax County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | May 7, 1855(1855-05-07) (aged 55) Macon, Georgia, U.S. |
| Resting place | Linwood Cemetery Columbus, Georgia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Nancy Holt |
| Children | Alfred H. andPeyton H. |
Walter Terry Colquitt (December 27, 1799 – May 7, 1855) was a lawyer,circuit-ridingMethodist preacher, and politician. Born in Virginia, he later moved with his family to Georgia, where he grew up. He graduated fromPrinceton College, "read the law", and passed the bar.
Later he was elected asUnited States Representative, and then by the Georgia state legislature asU.S. Senator from the state.
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Born in 1799 in Monroe,Halifax County, Virginia, Colquitt moved as a child with his parents toMount Zion inCarroll County, Georgia. He attendedPrinceton College and studied law, gaining admission to thebar in 1820 at the age of 21.
He began his law practice that year inSparta, Georgia. Later that year, Colquitt was commissioned as abrigadier general of the statemilitia, also at the age of 21. Colquitt moved to the village ofCowpens inWalton County, where he practiced law. He was elected judge of the Chattahoochee circuit in 1826, and was re-elected three years later.
He was licensed as a Methodist preacher in 1827, and practiced as a circuit-riding preacher. He became extremely popular in central and south Georgia, mostly for his strong support ofstates' rights at a time when the state tried to deal directly with the Native American tribes who occupied extensive territory there. The state was trying to force them to cede land for the benefit of white settlers, but only the federal government was authorized constitutionally to make treaties with the Native Americans and deal with them officially.
Colquitt was said to be able to make a stump speech, try a court case and plead another at the bar, christen a child, preach a sermon, and marry a couple - all before dinner.[1] He was elected as a member of theGeorgia Senate in 1834 and 1837.
In 1838, afterIndian Removal had been underway for several years in Georgia and the Southeast by the federal government, Colquitt was elected as aWhig to theTwenty-sixth Congress, serving from March 4, 1839, to July 21, 1840, when he resigned. He changed parties, affiliating with the Democratic Party.[2] He was elected as aVan Buren Democrat to theTwenty-seventh Congress. Newly available seats were open in the election, due to the resignations ofJulius C. Alford,William Crosby Dawson, andEugenius A. Nisbet.
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Colquitt married Nancy Holt after setting up his law practice. Their children included sonsAlfred Holt Colquitt andPeyton H. Colquitt (1831-1863).
Following the death of his first wife, Colquitt married widow Alphea B. (Todd) Fauntleroy in 1841. She died that year, and he married Harriet W. Ross the following year, in 1842.
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In 1842 the Georgia state legislature elected Colquitt as aDemocrat to theU.S. Senate; he served from March 4, 1843, until his resignation in February 1848. While in the Twenty-ninth Congress, Colquitt was chairman of the Committee on theDistrict of Columbia and the Committee on Patents and Patent Office. He supported thePolk administration in the controversy relative to theOregon Territory, and was a prominent opponent of theWilmot Proviso throughout theMexican–American War.
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Colquitt retired from national politics in 1848 to resume his law practice and preaching. He was a member of theNashville Convention in 1850, arguing forsecession ifslavery was restricted in any of the new territories then being added to the country. Colquitt died in 1855 during a trip fromColumbus toMacon, Georgia. He was buried in Linwood Cemetery in Columbus, Georgia, where he had been residing.
Colquitt County, Georgia is named in memory of Walter T. Colquitt, as was the town ofColquitt, Georgia.[3]
His son,Alfred Holt Colquitt (1824-1894), son of his first wife Nancy (Holt Colquitt, also became a politician, being elected as a U.S. Representative and Senator from Georgia. He served as a general in theConfederate States Army during theAmerican Civil War. His second son,Peyton H. Colquitt (1831-1863), also served as a Confederate officer; the colonel was mortally wounded in theBattle of Chickamauga and died two days later.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromGeorgia's at-large congressional district March 4, 1839 – July 21, 1840 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromGeorgia's at-large congressional district January 3, 1842 – March 3, 1843 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 3) from Georgia March 4, 1843 – February, 1848 Served alongside:John M. Berrien | Succeeded by |
| Class 2 |  | |
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| Class 3 | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
