Isaac THOMAS, Congress, TN (1784-1859)

THOMAS, Isaac, a Representative from Tennessee; born in Sevierville, Tenn., November 4, 1784; after the death of his parents he moved to Winchester, Tenn., in 1800; self-educated; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1808 and practiced in Winchester; elected as a Republican to the Fourteenth Congress (March 4, 1815-March 3, 1817); moved to Alexandria, Rapides Parish, La., in 1819; resumed the practice of law; purchased vast tracts of land adjoining Alexandria and became one of the largest landowners and slaveholders in Louisiana; was the first man to introduce the cultivation of sugar cane in central Louisiana; also engaged in mercantile pursuits and in the operation of sawmills and steamboats; served as brigadier general of the Louisiana Militia; served in the State senate 1823-1827; moved to California in 1849; returned to Alexandria, La., where he died on February 2, 1859; interment in the Flint lot, in Rapides Cemetery, Pineville, La.

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