Pryor Lea (August 31, 1794 – September 14, 1879) was an American politician and railroad entrepreneur who represented

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 ...

's 2nd district in the

United States House of Representatives 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 1827 to 1831. He moved to Goliad, Texas, in the 1840s, where he engaged in railroad construction, and served in the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate ...

. He was a delegate to the 1861 Texas convention that adopted the state's Ordinance of Secession on the eve of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. Luke Lea and Albert M. Lea were his brothers.

Early life

Lea was born in what is now

Grainger County, Tennessee Grainger County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 23,527. Its county seat is Rutledge, Tennessee, Rutledge. Grainger County is a part ...

, but was then part of Knox County, the son of Major Lea and Lavinia (Jarnagin) Lea.Mary Rothrock (ed.), ''The French Broad-Holston Country: A History of Knox County, Tennessee'' (Knoxville, Tenn.: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1972), pp. 439-440.Alethia Belcher,
Estate Retains Colonial Atmosphere
" Morristown ''Citizen Tribune''. Photo copy retrieved at Rootsweb.com 22 February 2013. He attended the former Greeneville College (now

Tusculum College Tusculum University is a private Presbyterian university with its main campus in Tusculum, Tennessee. It is Tennessee's first university and the 28th-oldest operating college or university in the United States. In addition to its main campus, ...

), after which he studied law. He fought in the

Creek War The Creek War (also the Red Stick War or the Creek Civil War) was a regional conflict between opposing Native American factions, European powers, and the United States during the early 19th century. The Creek War began as a conflict within th ...

as a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

under

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

in 1813, and clerked for the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

in 1816. He was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

in 1817, and began practicing in

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

. He owned slaves. He married Maria Kennedy on October 6, 1818. They had four children, Abraham, Julia, Centhia, and James Kennedy. His second marriage was to Minerva Heard, and his third was to Mary Perkins. Lea was appointed to the Board of Trustees of East Tennessee College (the forerunner of the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

) in 1821, and later served as the board's secretary.Rossiter Johnson and John Howard Brown,
The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans
' (Biographical Society, 1904). Retrieved: 22 February 2013. That same year, he was appointed United States Attorney for Eastern Tennessee.
The Bicentennial Celebration of the United States
'', U.S. Department of Justice Document Set 16, 1994. Retrieved: 1 February 2013.

Congress

A supporter of Andrew Jackson, Lea was elected to the

U.S. House of Representatives 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 ...

in 1827, defeating fiery anti-Jacksonite Thomas D. Arnold by a vote of 3,688 to 3,316. He again defeated Arnold in a hotly contested election in 1829, winning 4,713 votes to Arnold's 4,496.Candidate: Pryor Lea
''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved: 22 February 2013. Arnold charged Lea with voter fraud, but the House Committee on Elections found no evidence of irregularities, and Lea was allowed to take his seat. He served in the Twentieth and Twenty-first congresses, from March 4, 1827, to March 4, 1831. He was narrowly defeated by Arnold for a third term in 1831, 4,935 votes to 4,702. As a congressman, Lea was a strict constructionist and

states' rights In United States, American politics of the United States, political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments of the United States, state governments rather than the federal government of the United States, ...

advocate. He generally opposed federal funding for

internal improvements Internal improvements is the term used historically in the United States for public works from the end of the American Revolution through much of the 19th century, mainly for the creation of a transportation infrastructure: roads, turnpikes, can ...

, most notably voting against the 1830 "Hemphill Bill," which would have financed the construction of a road connecting Buffalo and

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. He voted in favor of the

Indian Removal Act The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States president Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, ...

of 1830, describing the House debate on the bill as "one of the severest struggles that I have ever witnessed in Congress."

Buddy Levy Buddy Levy (born February 2, 1960) is an English professor of writing at Washington State University, a freelance magazine writer, TV personality, and author of nine non-fiction books. Biography Levy was born February 2, 1960, in New Orleans, and g ...

,
American Legend: The Real-Life Adventures of David Crockett
' (Penguin, 2006). He frequently clashed with fellow Tennessee congressman

Davy Crockett Colonel (United States), Colonel David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American politician, militia officer and frontiersman. Often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier", he represented Tennesse ...

, with Crockett calling Lea a "poltroon, a scoundrel, and a puppy," and warning they would fight if they ever crossed paths. In 1830 he gave a speech on a bill to construct a "National Road" from Buffalo, New York to New Orleans.

Later life

During the mid-1830s, Lea developed an interest in railroad construction, which many East Tennesseans viewed as a solution to the region's isolation. He was secretary of an 1836 Knoxville convention that mapped out the proposed Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad. This proposed railroad was doomed by the

Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that began a major depression (economics), depression which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages dropped, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment rose, and pes ...

, however. Lea moved to

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

, in 1836. He then moved to Goliad, Texas, in 1846, to promote railroad construction. He worked with the Aransas Railroad Company, which sought to build a line from the

Aransas Bay Aransas Bay is a bay on the Texas Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast, approximately northeast of Corpus Christi, Texas, Corpus Christi, and south of San Antonio, Texas, San Antonio. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by San José ...

area to Goliad, and eventually from Goliad to

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

(his brother, Albert Miller Lea, was chief engineer of the company). In 1866, the company reincorporated as the Central Transit Company, re-mapping its line from Goliad to

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

as part of a larger transcontinental effort. Though vigorously promoted by Lea, the company's plans never materialized.Craig H. Roell,
Pryor Lea
" Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved: 22 February 2013. Lea was a founding trustee of the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

. With Both Albert and Pryor Lea supported the

Knights of the Golden Circle The Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC) was a secret society founded in 1854 by American George W. L. Bickley, the objective of which was to create a new country known as the Golden Circle (), where slavery would be legal. The country would have ...

, a secret society which planned to invade Mexico and Central America and establish a massive slave empire around the Gulf of Mexico. They pitched the society's plan to Governor

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...

in 1860, but Houston rejected the plan, and ordered the Texas Rangers to break up the Knights' assemblies. Lea was a delegate to the Texas Secession Convention, which met in

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

in January 1861 to adopt an Ordinance of Secession, leading to eventual

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

membership in the Confederacy. He was elected to the

later that year, serving a single term. During the war, he worked with Goliad Aid Association, which provided relief to indigent families, and served as a commissioner with the Aransas Salt Works. In 1866, Governor James W. Throckmorton appointed Lea state superintendent of public instruction, though he was later removed for opposing Reconstruction. Goliad County elected Lea their delegate to the state's 1875 Constitutional Convention, but he declined due to his "extreme age." He died on September 14, 1879 (age 85 years, 14 days), and is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...

at Oak Hill Cemetery in Goliad.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lea, Pryor 1794 births 1879 deaths People from Grainger County, Tennessee Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Texas state senators United States attorneys for the Eastern District of Tennessee Tennessee lawyers People from Goliad, Texas Tusculum University alumni University of Mississippi people Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves 19th-century members of the Texas Legislature 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives