Luke Lea (representative)

Luke Lea
Secretary of State of Tennessee
In office 1835–1839
Preceded by	Samuel G. Smith
Succeeded by	John S. Young
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 3rd district
In office March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837
Preceded by	James I. Standifer
Succeeded by	Joseph L. Williams
Personal details
Born	January 21, 1783 Surry County, North Carolina
Died	June 17, 1851 (aged 68) Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Political party	Jacksonian Democrat Whig Anti-Jacksonian
Spouse(s)	Susan Wells McCormick Lea
Children	James Armstrong Lea John McCormick Lea Francis Wells Lea William Park Lea Ann R. Lea Susan Jane Lea Lavinia Lea Margaret Lea Luke Lea, Jr.
Profession	politician

Luke Lea (January 21, 1783 – June 17, 1851) was a two-term United States Representative from Tennessee.

Biography

Lea was born in Surry County, North Carolina, the son of the Reverend Luke and Elisabeth Wilson Lea. He moved with his parents in 1790 into what would become Hawkins County, Tennessee. He attended the common school, and as a young man he was a clerk for the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1804 to 1806. He married Susan Wells McCormick on February 28, 1816, and they had nine children. He was also the great-grandfather of Luke Lea, founder of the Nashville Tennessean newspaper and a U.S. Senator from Tennessee from 1911 to 1917.^[1]

Career

After commanding a regiment under General Andrew Jackson in the Seminole and Creek War of 1818, Lee then moved to Campbells Station, Tennessee, in Knox County.

Lea was elected as a Jacksonian to the 23rd Congress and re-elected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the 24th Congress. He served from March 4, 1833 to March 3, 1837.^[2] He changed parties for his second term from Democratic to Whig. He then served as Tennessee Secretary of State from 1837 to 1839.

On September 9, 1850, Lea was appointed Indian agent by President Millard Fillmore for Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and served in that capacity until his death the following year.^[3]

Death

Thrown from his horse on his way back to his residence near Fort Leavenworth, Lea died on June 17, 1851 (age 68 years, 147 days). He was first interred at Westport Cemetery, Kansas City, Missouri; and is finally interred at Union Cemetery, Kansas City, Missouri.^[4] Lea was the brother of Pryor Lea, a two-term Tennessee Congressman (1827–1831), who was later a Texas state senator and a prominent Confederate supporter in Texas.

References

1. "Luke Lea". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
2. "Luke Lea". Govtrack US Congress. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
3. "Luke Lea". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
4. "Luke Lea". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved 27 February 2013.

External links

• Find A Grave

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.