Stephen ADAMS, Congress, MS (1807-1857)

ADAMS, Stephen, a Representative and a Senator from Mississippi; born in the Pendleton District, S.C., October 17, 1807; moved with his parents to Franklin County, Tenn., in 1812; attended the public schools; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1829; member of the State senate 1833-1834; moved to Aberdeen, Miss., in 1834 and commenced the practice of law; circuit court judge 1837-1845; elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-ninth Congress (March 4, 1845-March 3, 1847); again became judge of the circuit court in 1848; member of the State house of representatives in 1850; delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1851; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate on February 19, 1852, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Jefferson Davis and served from March 17, 1852, to March 3, 1857; chairman, Committee on Retrenchment (Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth Congresses); moved to Memphis, Tenn. and resumed the practice of law; died in Memphis, Tenn., May 1, 1857; interment in Elmwood Cemetery.

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