Allen Taylor Caperton (November 21, 1810 – July 26, 1876) was an American politician who was a
United States senator from the State of
West Virginia in 1875–1876. He was a member of the
Democratic Party. He had been in the
Virginia House of Delegates and
Virginia State Senate before the
American Civil War. During the Civil War, he was a
Confederate States senator.
Early life
Caperton, son of
Hugh Caperton
Hugh Caperton (April 17, 1781 – February 9, 1847) was an American politician and planter from Virginia. He was the father of Allen Taylor Caperton whom he had with his wife Jane Erskine Caperton.
Biography
Born in Greenbrier County, Virgi ...
and Jane Erskine, was born near
Union,
Monroe County, West Virginia
Monroe County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,376. Its county seat is Union.
Monroe County was the home of Andrew Summers Rowan of Spanish–American War fame, who is immortalized in ...
(now
West Virginia) on November 21, 1810. At the age of 14, he traveled by horseback to
Huntsville, Alabama, to attend school. He later graduated from the
University of Virginia at
Charlottesville, then graduated from
Yale College in 1832. He studied law in
Staunton, Virginia
Staunton ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities a ...
, was admitted to the bar and practiced law. He was married to Harriett Echols.
Political career
Caperton was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1841–1842. He was elected a member of the Virginia Senate in 1844 and sat until 1848. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates again from 1857 to 1861. In 1850, he was a delegate to the
State constitutional convention. In 1861, he was a member of the
Virginia Secession Convention
The Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 was called in Richmond to determine whether Virginia would secede from the United States, to govern the state during a state of emergency, and to write a new Constitution for Virginia, which was subsequent ...
.
During the Civil War, he was elected by the legislature of Virginia to be a member of the
Confederate States Senate in which he sat until 1865.
After the war, he was the first ex-Confederate elected to the United States Senate, entering office as a Democrat from West Virginia, from March 4, 1875, until his death in Washington, D.C., on July 26, 1876. He was interred in Green Hill Cemetery in Union, West Virginia.
His residence near Union,, "
Elmwood," was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
See also
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References
Retrieved on March 23, 2009
External links
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1810 births
1876 deaths
Confederate States of America senators
19th-century American politicians
Democratic Party United States senators from West Virginia
People from Union, West Virginia
People of Virginia in the American Civil War
People of West Virginia in the American Civil War
Virginia lawyers
West Virginia Democrats
Virginia Secession Delegates of 1861
Caperton family of Virginia and West Virginia
Yale College alumni
University of Virginia alumni
West Virginia lawyers
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