Cowles Mead (October 18, 1776 – May 17, 1844) was a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Born in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, he received an English education and became a private practice

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

. He presented credentials as a member-elect to the 9th United States Congress (March 4, 1805 – December 24, 1805) but was replaced by Thomas Spalding who contested the initial election outcome. Mead then served as Secretary of the

Mississippi Territory The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that was created under an organic act passed by the United States Congress, Congress of the United States. It was approved and signed into law by Presiden ...

, 1806–1807; Acting Governor of Mississippi Territory, 1806–1807; and member of the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected for ...

, 1807 and 1822–23. He was unsuccessful candidate for election to the

13th United States Congress The 13th 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, 1813 ...

in 1812. He was a delegate to the first constitutional convention for setting up the new State of Mississippi in 1817. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the

16th United States Congress The 16th 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, 1819, ...

in 1818. He served in the

Mississippi Senate The Mississippi State Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the Lower house, lower Mississippi House of Represen ...

in 1821. He was later the Speaker of the

, the lower chamber of the

Mississippi state legislature The Mississippi Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The bicameral Legislature is composed of the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, with 122 members, and the upper Mississippi State Senate, with 52 me ...

, from 1823 to 1827. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for election as governor of Mississippi in 1825. He died 19 years later in 1844 on his Greenwood Plantation in Hinds County, Mississippi where he was buried. An article published in 1849 described his involvement in the arrest of

Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician, businessman, lawyer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805 d ...

and the writer's impression of Mead's character: Mead's house, called Meadvilla, stood along the main (only) street of Washington, Mississippi Territory. After his time it was used as the Washington Hotel and later purchased and occupied for many years by Benjamin L. C. Wailes.

References

, - , - , - 1776 births 1844 deaths Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from Mississippi Territory Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Members of the Mississippi House of Representatives Members of the United States House of Representatives removed by contest Mississippi Democratic-Republicans Mississippi state senators People from Virginia Speakers of the Mississippi House of Representatives 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 Mississippi Legislature Burr conspiracy {{Mississippi-politician-stub