Asa Hodges (January 22, 1822 – June 6, 1900) was an American lawyer, slaveholder, and politician who served one term as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

for

Arkansas's 1st congressional district Arkansas's 1st congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in eastern Arkansas that elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives. It is currently represented by Republican Rick Crawford. With a Cook Parti ...

from 1873 to 1875.

Biography

Born near Moulton in Lawrence County in northern

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, Hodges moved to

Marion Marion or MARION may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Marion (band), a British alternative rock group * ''Marion'' (miniseries), a 1974 miniseries * ''Marion'' (1920 film), an Italian silent film * ''Marion'' (2024 film), a UK short People a ...

in Crittenden County in northeastern

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. He attended La Grange Male and Female College in

LaGrange Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi LagrangiaMissouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, now part of Hannibal-LaGrange University in

Hannibal Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. Hannibal's fat ...

, Missouri. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1848, and practiced until 1860.

Personal life

On April 17, 1858, he married Caroline Sarah Turpin Chick, the widow of his relative, John W. Hodges.

Slaveholder

Prior to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Hodges owned many

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

s near

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

Arkansas legislature

He served as delegate to the Arkansas constitutional convention in 1867. He was a member of the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House has 100 members elected from an equal number of constituencies across the state. Each distr ...

for a partial term in 1868 and the

Arkansas Senate The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...

from 1870 to 1873.

Congress

Hodges was elected as a Republican to the

43rd United States Congress The 43rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1873, ...

(March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1875) to Arkansas' First District. He did not seek reelection in 1874 to the Forty-fourth Congress and was succeeded by the

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Lucien C. Gause.

Later career and death

Thereafter, he engaged in

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. He died near Marion and is interred next to his wife at Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis in Shelby County.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodges, Asa 1822 births 1900 deaths People from Lawrence County, Alabama Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas Republican Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives Republican Party Arkansas state senators 19th-century American planters Arkansas lawyers People from Marion, Arkansas 19th-century American lawyers Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Arkansas General Assembly