OF

Tennessee and Tennesseans

The Leaders and Representative Men in Commerce,
Industry and Modern Activities

BY

WILL T. HALE

Author of "The Backward Trail: Stories of the Indians and Tennessee
Pioneers," "Great Southerners," "Marriage and Divorce, and
Land Laws of Tennessee," "True Stories of James-
town, Va.", "An Autumn Lane and Other
Poems" and "Folk-Tales of the
Southern Hill People,"

AND

DIXON L. MERRITT

VOLUME II

ILLUSTRATED

THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY

(Not Inc.)

CHICAGO AND NEW YORK

CHAPTER XXIV

ADMINISTRATIONS OF McMINN AND CARROLL

In 1815 there were a number of candidates for gubernatorial honors. Apparently the office had come to be regarded after the War of 1812 as a more desirable prize, or else those who aspired for the honor saw ahead a better prospect of election than when the early heroes were in their prime, and covetous of office. The contestants were:

Jesse Wharton, born in Albermarle county, Virginia, about 1760, and died in Nashville July 22, 1833. Educated in his native state, he adopted the profession of law, and settled in Tennessee. He served in congress in 1807-9, and, under appointment by Gov. Willie Blount, to fill the place of George W. Campbell, he was United States senator in 1814-15. He resigned the senatorship only a few days before the election in 1815 to become a candidate for governor.

Robert Weakley, born in Halifax county, Virginia, July 20, 1764, and died near Nashville, February 4, 1845. At the age of sixteen he joined the Revolutionary army, serving till the close of the war. Then with his entire worldly possessions-a horse, saddled and bridled, and $1.75 in currency-he came to the Cumberland country. In a short time he arose to the rank of colonel of the border riflemen. He was a member of the convention which adopted the federal constitution, was more than once a member of the general assembly of Tennessee, and was elected to congress in 1809. Two years later he was chosen a member of the state senate. It may be added that his last office was that of member of the convention to revise the constitution of the state in 1834.

Robert C. Foster. Little is known of Foster, except that he came to the state in 1800 when eighteen years old, and was several times speaker of the state house of representatives.

Thomas Johnson, born in North Carolina July 4, 1766, came to what is now Robertson county in 1789 as a surveyor. He was a member of the convention that adopted the federal constitution, took part in the Nicajack expedition and the campaign against the Creeks under Jack