Harvey Magee WATTERSON, Congress, TN (1811-1891)

WATTERSON, Harvey Magee, (father of Henry Watterson), a Representative from Tennessee; born at “Beechgrove,” the family homestead, in Bedford County, Tenn., November 23, 1811; pursued classical studies; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Shelbyville, Bedford County, Tenn.; established and edited a paper in Shelbyville, Tenn., in 1831; member of the State house of representatives in 1835; elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1839-March 3, 1843); declined to be a candidate for reelection in 1842 to the Twenty-eighth Congress; sent by President Tyler on a diplomatic mission to Buenos Aires, where he remained for a year; member of the State senate 1845-1847, and served as speaker; editor and proprietor of the Nashville Union 1847-1851 and editor of the Washington Union in 1851; delegate to the Democratic National Convention at Baltimore in 1860, and was a presidential elector on the Douglas ticket the same year; appointed by President Johnson as one of a commission to investigate conditions in the States “lately in rebellion”; practiced law in Washington, D.C., for fourteen years; moved to Louisville, Ky.; member of the editorial staff of the Louisville Courier-Journal; died in Louisville, Ky., October 1, 1891; interment in Cave Hill Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present