Robert Desha (January 14, 1791February 6, 1849) was an American politician who represented

Tennessee's 5th Congressional district The 5th congressional district of Tennessee is a congressional district in Middle Tennessee. It has been represented by Republican Andy Ogles since January 2023. In the past, the fifth district has been nearly synonymous with Tennessee's capi ...

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 ...

Early life

Desha was born near Gallatin in the

Southwest Territory The Territory South of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Southwest Territory or the old Southwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1790, until June 1, 1796, when it was ...

on January 14, 1791, to Robert Desha and Elinor Wheeler. He was the brother of U.S. Representative and Kentucky governor

Joseph Desha Joseph Desha (December 9, 1768 – October 11, 1842) was an American politician who was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky from 1807 to 1819 and the ninth governor of Kentucky from 1824 to 1828. First known as an Indian fighter from Middl ...

. He attended the public schools and engaged in mercantile business at Gallatin. He owned slaves.

Career

On March 12, 1812, Desha was appointed as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the Twenty-fourth Regiment of the United States Infantry in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. He also served as a brevet

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 ...

before being honorably discharged on June 15, 1815. Elected as a Jacksonian to the Twentieth and Twenty-first Congresses, Desha served from March 4, 1827, to March 3, 1831. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1830 for the Twenty-second Congress, moved to

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

and continued to engage in mercantile pursuits there.

Personal life

In 1820, Desha was married to Eleanor "Nellie" Shelby (1799–1833), a daughter of David Shelby and Sally (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Bledsoe) Shelby. Together, they were the parents of: * Phoebe Ann Desha (1821–1871), who married Murray Forbes Smith (1814–1875).Patterson, Jerry E. ''The Vanderbilts.'', pages 120–121. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1989. * Caroline Lula Desha (1828–1876), who married John Hindman Barney (1811–1853). After his death, she married James Lloyd Abbot (1827–1883) in 1857. After her death in 1833, Ellen Porter (1815–1889), a daughter of James Porter and Eliza Porter (née French) Farquharson. Desha died in Mobile on February 6, 1849, aged 58 years old. He was

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 ...

in Magnolia Cemetery.

Descendants

Through his daughter Phoebe, he was a grandfather of Mary Virginia "Jennie" Smith (who married the

Cuban American Cuban Americans ( or ) are Americans who immigrated from or are descended from immigrants from Cuba. As of 2023, Cuban Americans were the fourth largest Hispanic and Latino American group in the United States after Mexican Americans, Stateside ...

banker

Fernando Yznaga Fernando Alfonso Yznaga del Valle (October 16, 1850 – March 6, 1901) was a Cuban American banker who was one of the best-known men of New York and foreign society and club life. Described as "one of the most entertaining of men, very clever at e ...

) and

Alva Erskine Smith Alva Erskine Belmont (née Smith; January 17, 1853 – January 26, 1933), known as Alva Vanderbilt from 1875 to 1896, was an American multi-millionaire socialite and women's suffrage activist. She was noted for her energy, intelligence, strong ...

, who married William Kissam Vanderbilt in 1875. They divorced in 1895 and she remarried to Oliver Belmont in 1896 and remained married until his death in 1908. She was the mother of three children; Consuelo Vanderbilt (later the Duke of Marlborough (title), Duchess of Marlborough following her marriage to Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough), William Kissam Vanderbilt II, and Harold Stirling Vanderbilt. Through his granddaughter Alva, he is an ancestor of the John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough, 10th, John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough, 11th and James Spencer-Churchill, 12th Duke of Marlborough, 12th Dukes of Marlborough.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Desha, Robert 1791 births 1849 deaths People from Sumner County, Tennessee American people of French descent Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Politicians from Mobile, Alabama United States Army officers United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 Military personnel from Tennessee Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives Military personnel from Mobile, Alabama