Pryor LEA, Congress, TN (1794-1879)
LEA, Pryor, (brother of Luke Lea [1783-1851]), a Representative from Tennessee; born in Knox County, Tenn., August 31, 1794; completed preparatory studies; was graduated from Greeneville College; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1817 and commenced the practice of his profession in Knoxville, Tenn.; served in the Creek War in 1813; United States attorney for Tennessee in 1824; elected as a Jacksonian to the Twentieth and Twenty-first Congresses (March 4, 1827-March 3, 1831); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1830 to the Twenty-second Congress; moved to Jackson, Miss., in 1836 and to Goliad, Goliad County, Tex., in 1846; engaged in railroad building and management; member of the State Peopleâs convention, which met at Austin, Tex., in January 1861 and passed the ordinance of secession; died in Goliad, Tex., September 14, 1879; interment in Oak Hill Cemetery.
Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present
