Tunstall Quarles ( – January 7, 1855) was a

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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 ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, as well as one of the pioneer settlers of

Somerset, Kentucky Somerset is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Pulaski County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,924. History Somerset was first settled in 1798 by Thomas Hansford and received its name from ...

in Pulaski County. Quarles was born in

King William County, Virginia King William County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,810. Its county seat is King William. King William County is located in the Middle Peninsula and is included in the Greate ...

. He moved to Kentucky in 1786 with his parents, Tunstall and Susanna Edwards Quarles. He married Pamella Stranger and had ten children.Richmond Times-Dispatch, November 22, 1914
/ref> Quarles came to Somerset sometime before 1812, for in May 1812, he was one of a commission to supervise the building of a

County Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keepin ...

's office. Quarles was a lawyer and became a member of the state legislature in 1811 and 1812. 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 armed and equipped a company of the Second Regiment Kentucky Militia at his own expense and then commanded them. After the war, he served as a

circuit court Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

judge. He was elected as a Democrat-Republican to be a member of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Congresses and served from March 1817 until his resignation in June 1820. Quarles was appointed receiver of public moneys for the Cape Girardeau land district, with offices at Jackson, Missouri, and served from May 1821 to July 1824. Quarles returned to Somerset in July 1824, where he resumed his law practice and agricultural pursuits. Like so many other early figures of Pulaski County history, Quarles was an avid member of the Freemasons. Using funding from the National Freemason Association, he was able to organize the first bank in Somerset, the Farmers Bank, and served as president from 1825 to 1827. Little else is known about the role of Quarles in masonic lore. In 1828, Quarles was again elected to the state House of Representatives, and was elector on the Democratic ticket of Jackson and Calhoun. He served a term in the

state Senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

in 1840.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quarles, Tunstall 1770s births 1855 deaths Kentucky lawyers Kentucky state court judges Kentucky state senators Kentucky Jacksonians People from King William County, Virginia People from Woodford County, Kentucky People from Somerset, Kentucky Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly Speakers of the Kentucky House of Representatives