John Perkins Ralls, Sr. (January 1, 1822 – November 22, 1904) was a physician and representative from the state of

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 ...

to the

Congress of the Confederate States The Confederate States Congress was both the Provisional government, provisional and permanent Legislature, legislative assembly/legislature of the Confederate States of America that existed from February 1861 to April/June 1865, during the Ame ...

during 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 ...

, not to be confused with

John Rawls John Bordley Rawls (; February 21, 1921 – November 24, 2002) was an American moral philosophy, moral, legal philosophy, legal and Political philosophy, political philosopher in the Modern liberalism in the United States, modern liberal tradit ...

the 20th-century American philosopher. Ralls was born in

Greensboro, Georgia Greensboro is a city in and the county seat of Greene County, Georgia, United States. Its population was 3,648 as of the 2020 census. The city is located approximately halfway between Atlanta and Augusta on Interstate 20. History Greensboro ...

, on New Years Day, 1822. He attended medical school in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and established a practice in

Gadsden, Alabama Gadsden is the county seat of Etowah County in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is located on the Coosa River about northeast of Birmingham and southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is the primary city of the Gadsden Metropolitan Statist ...

. He married Agnes Mary Hamilton. They would eventually have eight children. He represented Cherokee County, AL as a delegate to the Alabama

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

convention in early 1861. He represented the state in the

First Confederate Congress The 1st Confederate States Congress, consisting of the Confederate States Senate and the Confederate States House of Representatives, convened between February 18, 1862, and February 17, 1864. This assembly took place during the first two years ...

from 1862 to 1864. Following the war, he was a delegate to the Alabama state constitutional convention in 1875. He was elected to the

Alabama State Legislature The Alabama Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a bicameral body composed of the House of Representatives and Senate. It is one of the few state legislatures in which members of both chamb ...

in 1878.The Political Graveyard
biography of John Perkins Ralls (Accessed 08-31-08). Ralls was actively involved in the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

and was a noted minister. One of his sons, Hamilton, was also a minister. He died in Gadsden, Alabama, on November 22, 1904, and was buried in Forrest Cemetery in Gadsden.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ralls, John Perkins Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Alabama Democratic Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives People from Greensboro, Georgia Politicians from Gadsden, Alabama Physicians from Alabama 1822 births 1904 deaths Alabama Secession Delegates of 1861