WRITINGS OF SAM HOUSTON, 1823
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his practice at Huntsville, Alabama. He was a member of the Territorial House of Representatives in 1817; he was appointed President of the State constitutional convention in 1819, and when the State was admitted into the Union, he was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate (December 14, 1819-December 12, 1822). It has been said that he frequently addressed the Senate when it was though that he would die before-finishing his speech. He resigned his position in December, 1822, and died at his home in Hunts- ville, April 23, 1823. See the Biogm7>hicctl Directory of the American Congress, 1659, also Charles Lanman, The Dictionciry of the United States Senate, 252, 278. 5 John McKinley (May 1, 1780-July 19, 1852), a Senator and Representa- tive from Alabama was born in Culpeper County, -Virginia, and died at Louisville, Kentucky. He served as a Representative and Senator from Alabama from November, 1826, to March, 1831; then as Representative, from March 4, 1833, to March, 1835; then, as Senator from 1835 to 1837. He resigned in 1837 to become Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, a position he held until his death in 1852. See the Biogravhical Directory of ·Jie American Cong1·ess, 1269. 0 William Carroll was Governor of Tennesese from 1821 to 1827. See the Dictionary of Ame1·ican Biogmphy, III, 529-530. 7 See Houston to William H. Crawford, February 16, 1816. 8 James Gadsden (May 15, 1788-December 26, 1858), railroad president, promoter of southern nationalism, Minister to Mexico, was born, and died in Charleston, South Carolina. He was a great favorite of Andrew Jackson, and a frequent and intimate visitor to the Hermitage. As early as November, 1817, young Gadsden was serving as Jackson's aide-de-camp, and remained with the general throughout the Florida campaign. See the Dictionary of American Biogm.phy, VII, 83-84; Parton, History of Tennessee, II, 360, 444, 450-462. ~R. E. W. Earle was an artist who was often commissioned to paint Jackson's portrait. He became a regular inmate of Jackson's household, and during the last twelve years of his life was constantly engaged in painting different sittings of the General. Earle died at the Hermitage and is buried in the garden beside Jackson's own tomb. His gravestone is inscribed: "In Memory of R. E. W. Earle, Artist, Friend_and Companion of General Jackson, who died at the Hermitage, 16th Sept. 1837." See Parton, II, 652-653.
To JOSEPH McMINN1
Nashville 15th Feby 1823 Dear Governor, Your letter has remained unanswered longer than my wishes dictated, but my situation required that I should do things that kept me busy, and I wished to say more in answer, than, "I am happy to acknowledge the receipt of your letter" of such a date. I was happy to receive it and attended immediately to the executive part of it; I folded and sent the first Whig myself, and requested Norvile~ to say where the deposit for it should be made; and he said it might be sent to him at this place!
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