Abram Poindexter Maury (/ˈmʌri/ MURR-ee, December 26, 1801 – July 22, 1848) was an American politician, who represented Tennessee's eighth district in the United States House of Representatives. He was a slaveholder.[1]
Biography
Maury was born near Franklin, Tennessee, on the plantation of his father, Abraham "Abram" Maury, Jr. After his preparatory studies, he became the editor of a newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri, at the age of sixteen. He next entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1820. He left the following year to pursue the study of law and edit a newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee.[2]
In 1826, he married Mary Eliza Tennessee Claiborne (1806-1852), daughter of Sarah Terrell Lewis and Dr. Thomas Augustine Claiborne, whose family was politically well-connected in the South.[2] They had nine children together, naming the seventh Septima and the eighth Octavia.
His father, Abraham Poindexter Maury, Jr. was a member of the Tennessee Senate and is the namesake of Maury County, Tennessee.[3]
Career
Maury was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1831, 1832, 1843, and 1844. He was admitted to the bar in 1839 and practiced in Williamson County, Tennessee.
Elected as a White supporter to the Twenty-fourth Congress by Tennessee's eighth district and re-elected as a Whig to the Twenty-fifth Congress, Maury served from March 4, 1835, to March 3, 1839.[4] He was not a candidate for renomination in 1838.
Maury resumed the practice of law in Williamson County, Tennessee and also engaged in literary pursuits and lecturing. He served in the Tennessee Senate in 1845 and 1846.[5]
Death
Maury died near Franklin, Tennessee July 22, 1848 (age 46 years, 209 days) and was interred in the family cemetery at Founders Pointe near Franklin, Tennessee.[6]
References
- ^ Weil, Julie Zauzmer; Blanco, Adrian; Dominguez, Leo (20 January 2022). "More than 1,700 congressmen once enslaved Black people. This is who they were, and how they shaped the nation". Washington Post. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Abram Poindexter Maury". William L. Clements Library University of Michigan. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
- ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 203.
- ^ "Abram Poindexter Maury". Govtrack US Congress. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
- ^ "Abram Poindexter Maury". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
- ^ "Abram Poindexter Maury". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
External links
- Abram Poindexter Maury at Find a Grave
- Abram Poindexter Maury, Jr.'s entry at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- A letter from Abram Poindexter Maury, Sr. to Abram Poindexter Maury, Jr., hosted by United States Genealogy Network, Inc.
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