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Stephen Adams (politician)

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Stephen Adams
United States Senator
from Mississippi
In office
March 17, 1852 – March 3, 1857
Preceded byJohn J. McRae
Succeeded byJefferson Davis
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Mississippi's at-large district
In office
March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847
Preceded byWilliam H. Hammett
Succeeded byno at-large seat
Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives
In office
1850
Personal details
Born(1807-10-17)October 17, 1807
Pendleton, South Carolina, United States
DiedMay 11, 1857(1857-05-11) (aged 49)
Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Political partyDemocratic

Stephen Adams (October 17, 1807 – May 11, 1857) was a United States Representative (1845 to 1847) and Senator (1852 to 1857) from Mississippi.

Early years

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Adams was born to David Adams, a Baptist clergyman, in Pendleton, South Carolina; he moved with his parents to Franklin County, Tennessee in 1812.[1] He attended the public schools, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1829, practiced in Franklin County.[1] He was an slaveowner.[2]

Career

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He was a member of the Tennessee Senate from 1833 to 1834, when he removed to Aberdeen, Mississippi[1] and commenced the practice of law. He was circuit court judge from 1837 to 1846, and was elected as a Democratic representative to the Twenty-ninth Congress,[1] serving from March 4, 1845, to March 3, 1847. He again became a judge of the circuit court in 1848, was a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1850, and was a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1851.[1]

Adams was elected to the U.S. Senate on February 19, 1852, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Jefferson Davis[1] and served from March 17, 1852 to March 3, 1857; while in the Senate he was chairman of the Committee on Retrenchment (Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth Congresses).

Last years

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At the close of his term he removed to Memphis, Tennessee and resumed the practice of law[1] until he died there of smallpox[3] on May 11, 1857[4] and was interred in Elmwood Cemetery.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Johnson 1906, p. 55
  2. ^ "Congress slaveowners", The Washington Post, January 13, 2022, retrieved January 14, 2022
  3. ^ "Monroe County - Stephen Adams". co-directors. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  4. ^ The American Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge, for the Year 1858

Sources

[edit]
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Mississippi's at-large congressional district

1845 – 1847
Succeeded by
no at-large seat
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 1) from Mississippi
March 17, 1852 – March 3, 1857
Served alongside: Walker Brooke and Albert G. Brown
Succeeded by