Maecenas Eason Benton

Maecenas Eason Benton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 15th district
In office March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1905
Preceded by	Charles G. Burton
Succeeded by	Cassius M. Shartel
Personal details
Born	January 29, 1848 Dyersburg, Tennessee
Died	April 27, 1924 (aged 76) Springfield, Missouri
Resting place	Odd Fellows Cemetery, Neosho, Missouri
Political party	Democratic
Children	Thomas Hart Benton
Alma mater	Saint Louis University
Profession	Lawyer
Military service
Allegiance	Confederate States of America
Service/branch	Confederate States Army
Battles/wars	American Civil War

Maecenas Eason Benton (January 29, 1848 – April 27, 1924) was a U.S. Representative from Missouri. He was the father of Thomas Hart Benton, who gained fame as a painter of the American Scene.

Biography

Born near Dyersburg, Tennessee, Benton attended two west Tennessee academies and St. Louis University. He was graduated from the Cumberland School of Law at Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee, in 1870. He served in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Neosho, Missouri. He served as prosecuting attorney of Newton County, Missouri, from 1878 to 1884 and subsequently the United States attorney from March 1885 to July 1889. He also served as delegate to the 1896 Democratic National Convention. On June 24, 1888 he married Elizabeth Wise of Waxahachie, Texas.

Congressional career

Benton was elected as a Democrat to the 55th, 56th, 57th, and 58th congresses (March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1905). An unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1904 to the 59th Congress, he resumed his law practice in Neosho, Missouri, and served as member of the State constitutional conventions in 1922 and 1924. He died in Springfield, Missouri, April 27, 1924 of throat cancer and was interred in the Odd Fellows Cemetery, Neosho, Missouri.

References

• Maecenas Eason Benton at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress