Henry Cooper (Tennessee politician)

Henry Cooper (August 22, 1827 – February 4, 1884) was a Tennessee attorney, judge, and politician who served one term in the United States Senate, 1871–1877. During his career, Cooper had various political affiliations, including Whig, Know Nothing, and Democrat.[1]

Henry Cooper
United States Senator
from Tennessee
In office
March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1877
Preceded byJoseph S. Fowler
Succeeded byIsham G. Harris
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives
In office
1853-1855
1857-1859
Personal details
Born(1827-08-22)August 22, 1827
Columbia, Tennessee, US
DiedFebruary 4, 1884(1884-02-04) (aged 56)
Tierra Blanca, Guadalupe y Calvo, Chihuahua, Mexico
Political partyDemocratic

Early life

Henry Cooper was born on August 22, 1827, in Columbia, Tennessee.[2] He had three brothers, including William Frierson Cooper and Edmund Cooper, and two half-brothers, including Duncan Brown Cooper.[1]

Cooper attended Dixon Academy in Shelbyville, Tennessee, and graduated from Jackson College in Jackson, Tennessee, in 1847.[2] He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1850.[2]

Political career

Cooper served as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1853 to 1855 and again from 1857 to 1859.[2] He was appointed judge of the former 7th Judicial Circuit in April, 1862.[1] In January, 1866 he resigned this position and moved to Lebanon, Tennessee, where he became a professor at the Cumberland School of Law.[2] In 1867 he moved to Nashville, where he served in the Tennessee State Senate, 1869-1870.[2]

The Tennessee General Assembly elected him to the United States Senate for the term beginning March 4, 1871.[2] He did not seek another term, and his Senate service ended on March 3, 1877.[2]

Mining career and death

By the early 1880s, he was engaged in mining operations in Tierra Blanca, Guadalupe y Calvo, Chihuahua, Mexico.[2]

Cooper was murdered there by bandits on February 4, 1884.[3] He was buried nearby, and a cenotaph to his memory was erected at Old City Cemetery in Shelbyville, Tennessee.

References
  1. Johnson, Andrew (1979). The Papers of Andrew Johnson. Vol. 5. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press. pp. 300–301. ISBN 978-0-87049-273-0.
  2. Onofrio, Jan (2000). Tennessee Biographical Dictionary. Santa Barbara, CA: Somerset Publishers, Inc. pp. 212–213. ISBN 978-0-403-09700-5.
  3. "Ex-Senator Cooper Murdered" (PDF). The New York Times. New York, NY. February 6, 1884. p. 5.

Sources
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