John Eaton (politician)

John Henry Eaton
United States Minister to Spain
In office March 16, 1836 – May 1, 1840
President	Andrew Jackson
Preceded by	William T. Barry
Succeeded by	Aaron Vail
Governor of the Territory of Florida
In office April 24, 1834 – March 16, 1836
President	Andrew Jackson
Preceded by	William Pope Duval
Succeeded by	Richard K. Call
13th United States Secretary of War
In office March 9, 1829 – June 18, 1831
President	Andrew Jackson
Preceded by	Peter Buell Porter
Succeeded by	Lewis Cass
United States Senator from Tennessee
In office September 5, 1818 – March 9, 1829
Preceded by	George W. Campbell
Succeeded by	Felix Grundy
Personal details
Born	June 18, 1790 Scotland Neck, North Carolina, U.S.
Died	November 17, 1856 (aged 66) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party	Democratic-Republican (1815–28) Democratic (1828–40)
Spouse(s)	Myra Lewis (m. 1810–18); her death Margaret O'Neill (m. 1829–56); his death
Alma mater	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Profession	Lawyer, soldier
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Battles/wars	War of 1812

John Henry Eaton (June 18, 1790 – November 17, 1856) was an American politician and diplomat from Tennessee who served as U.S. Senator and as Secretary of War in the administration of Andrew Jackson. He was 28 years old when he took office, making him the second-youngest U.S. Senator in history after Armistead Thomson Mason.

Biography

Eaton was born near Scotland Neck, Halifax County, North Carolina. His first wife was Myra Lewis, who died before 1818, when he was 28 years old. Eaton was a lawyer and member of the Democratic Party. He served in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812 and was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1815 to 1816.

Eaton married his second wife Peggy O'Neill Timberlake, a longtime friend and newly bereaved widow, in 1829, years after meeting her and her husband in Washington, DC.

In 1818 he was elected Senator from Tennessee and served until 1829. His age of 28 at the time of his entry to the Senate was notable; it contradicted the US Constitution's requirement that all Senators be over the age of 30.

Eaton was a close personal friend of Andrew Jackson. After Jackson became President, Eaton and Postmaster General Amos Kendall were members of Jackson's Cabinet, as well as part of his informal circle of advisors. Jackson detractors called them his "Kitchen Cabinet". (Apparently this group did, in fact, frequently meet in the White House kitchen.)

Eaton resigned his Senate seat in 1829 due to a social scandal and took up appointment as Jackson's Secretary of War, serving from 1829 to 1831. Respectable women in Washington social circles led by Floride Calhoun, the wife of Vice President John C. Calhoun, had snubbed her for marrying Eaton shortly after her husband's death, and because of rumors that they had been having an affair prior to their marriage. The disruption penetrated the Cabinet as wives became involved on opposite sides of the issue. Jackson was furious to have his friend's wife scorned. The controversy, known as the Petticoat affair, indirectly contributed to the political rise of Martin Van Buren, a member of Jackson's cabinet who supported the Eatons.

After being persuaded by then Secretary of State Martin Van Buren, Eaton resigned as Secretary of War on June 18, 1831. He later served as Governor of Florida Territory from 1834 to 1836, and as ambassador to Spain from 1836 to 1840.

Eaton, a Freemason, died in Washington, D.C. on November 17, 1856. He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C.

Legacy

Eaton County, Michigan, is named in his honor.^[1]

Notes

1. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 113.

References

• United States Congress. "John Eaton (id: E000024)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Youngest Senator in history - Senate.gov

External links

•  "Eaton, John Henry". Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900.
•  "Eaton, John Henry". New International Encyclopedia. 1905.

John Eaton at Find a Grave