Ambrose H. Sevier

Early life and education

Ambrose Hundley Sevier was born near Greeneville, Tennessee in Greene County, Tennessee. Sevier moved to Missouri in 1820 and to Little Rock, Arkansas in 1821. In Arkansas he became clerk of the Territorial House of Representatives. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1823.

Marriage and family

Sevier married Juliette Johnson, the sister of Robert Ward Johnson, who also became an influential politician in the state. Their father Benjamin Johnson had gone to Arkansas as the first territorial judge; in 1836 he was appointed as the first federal district judge when the territory became a state. Ambrose and Juliette had several children.

Political career

Sevier was elected to the Territorial House of Representatives and served from 1823 to 1827; he was elected as Speaker of that body in 1827.

He was elected as a Jacksonian Delegate to the 20th US Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Henry Wharton Conway, killed as a result of a duel with a former friend. Sevier was reelected and served as delegate in three successive congresses from 1828 to 1836, when Arkansas was admitted to the Union. Sevier is known as the "Father of Arkansas Statehood".

In 1836 Sevier was elected as the first member of the United States Senate from Arkansas. He was reelected in 1837 and 1843. He resigned from office in 1848. During the 29th Congress, he was allowed to hold the seat of President pro tem of the Senate for a day, though he was not elected to that post. During his tenure, he served as chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs and was a member of the Committee on Foreign Relations.

In 1848 Sevier was appointed a Commissioner to help negotiate the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo at the end of the Mexican–American War. In December 1848, he was appointed by Polk to head what would later become the International Boundary and Water Commission, but died before being confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

After completing this project, Ambrose Hundley Sevier died the last day of that year on his plantation in Pulaski County, Arkansas. He was buried in the historic Mount Holly Cemetery. The State of Arkansas erected a monument in the cemetery in his honor.

Sevier was part of the powerful "Family" of Democratic politicians in Arkansas, who included his first cousins: Representative Henry Wharton Conway, Governor James Sevier Conway, and Governor Elias Nelson Conway; brother-in-law Senator Robert Ward Johnson, and son-in-law Governor Thomas James Churchill.

Legacy and honors

• He is known as the "Father of Arkansas Statehood."
• Sevier County, Arkansas is named in his honor.

References

References

1. (1908). "Publications of the Arkansas Historical Association".
2. [http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=1682 James M. Woods, "Robert Ward Johnson (1814-1879)"], ''Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture'', 2010, accessed 13 November 2013
3. "History of U.S. Commissioners".