John Henry EATON, Congress, TN (1790-1856)

EATON, John Henry, a Senator from Tennessee; born near Scotland Neck, Halifax County, N.C., June 18, 1790; attended the common schools and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1803 and 1804; studied law; admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Franklin, Tenn.; member, State house of representatives 1815-1816; appointed in 1818 and subsequently elected as a Democratic Republican to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of George W. Campbell and served from September 5, 1818, to March 3, 1821; elected as a Jackson Republican to the Senate in September 1821, and as a Jacksonian in 1826 and served from September 27, 1821, until March 9, 1829, when he resigned to accept a Cabinet position; chairman, Committee on District of Columbia (Twentieth Congress); appointed Secretary of War by President Andrew Jackson and served from 1829 to 1831, when he resigned; Governor, Territory of Florida 1834-1836; Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain 1836-1840; died in Washington, D.C., November 17, 1856; interment in Oak Hill Cemetery.

Bibliography

Dictionary of American Biography; Eaton, John Henry. The Life of Andrew Jackson. 1817. Reprint. University, AL: University of Alabama Press, 1974; Lawrence, Frank, ed. The Life of Andrew Jackson, John Reid, and John Eaton. University, AL: University of Alabama Press, 1974.

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