Leonidas Campbell HOUK, Congress, TN (1836-1891)
HOUK, Leonidas Campbell, (father of John Chiles Houk), a Representative from Tennessee; born near Boyds Creek, Sevier County, Tenn., June 8, 1836; attended the common schools less than three months; learned the trade of cabinet-making; studied law; was admitted to the bar October 13, 1859, and practiced; enlisted in the Union Army as a private August 9, 1861, and served with the Tennessee Volunteer Infantry until his resignation on account of ill health April 23, 1863; presidential elector on the Republican ticket in 1864; member of the State constitutional convention in 1865; judge of the circuit court of Tennessee 1866-1870; moved to Knoxville and resumed the practice of law; delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1868, 1880, 1884, and 1888; member of the State house of representatives 1873-1875; elected as a Republican to the Forty-sixth and to the six succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1879, until his death in Knoxville, Tenn., May 25, 1891; chairman, Committee on War Claims (Forty-seventh Congress); interment in the Old Gray Cemetery.
Bibliography
Gentry, Amos L. âThe Public Career of Leonidas Campbell Houk.â Masterâs thesis, University of Tennessee, 1939.Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present
