Josiah McNair ANDERSON, Congress, TN (1807-1861)

ANDERSON, Josiah McNair, a Representative from Tennessee; born near Pikeville, Bledsoe County, Tenn., November 29, 1807; attended the common schools; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Jasper, Tenn.; member of the State house of representatives 1833-1837, serving as speaker; member of the State senate 1843-1845, serving as presiding officer; elected as a Whig to the Thirty-first Congress (March 4, 1849-March 3, 1851); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1850 to the Thirty-second Congress; delegate from Tennessee to the peace convention of 1861, held in Washington, D.C., in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war; colonel in the Tennessee State Militia 1861; was killed at Looneys Creek, near the present town of Whitwell, Marion County, Tenn., November 8, 1861, just after having made a secession speech; interment on a farm seven miles southeast of Dunlap, Sequatchie County, Tenn.

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