- John Rhea
Infobox Person
name = John Rhea
birth_date = 1753
birth_place =County Londonderry ,Ireland
death_date =May 27 ,1832 (aged 79)
death_place =Blountville, Tennessee
other_names =
known_for =United States Congress Rhea County, Tennessee
occupation =
nationality = IrishJohn Rhea was an American politician in the early 19th century that represented
Tennessee in theUnited States House of Representatives . Born in the parish of Langhorn,County Londonderry ,Ireland in 1753, he immigrated to theUnited States in 1769 with his parents, who settled inPhiladelphia ,Pennsylvania . He moved to Piney Creek,Maryland in 1771 and to eastern Tennessee in 1778. In 1780, he completed preparatory studies and graduated fromPrinceton College . In October 1780 he was a member of the Patriot force in theBattle of Kings Mountain .He was
clerk of the Sullivan County Court in the proposedState of Franklin , and subsequently inNorth Carolina , from 1785 to 1790. He was a member of theNorth Carolina House of Commons , and he was a delegate to the State convention that ratified the Federal Constitution in 1789. He studiedlaw and was admitted to bar in 1789. In 1796, he was a delegate to the constitutional convention of Tennessee and the attorney general of Greene County. In 1796 and 1797 he was a member of theTennessee House of Representatives .John Rhea was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Eighth Congress and the five succeeding Congresses, serving from
March 4 ,1803 untilMarch 3 ,1815 . During the Tenth through the Thirteenth Congress, he was the chairman of the Committee on Post Office and Post Roads. He was a member of the Committee on Pensions and Revolutionary War Claims during the Fifteenth Congress through the Seventeenth Congress.He was appointed
United States commissioner to treat with the Choctaw Nation in 1816. Afterward, he again became a U.S. Representative, serving fromMarch 4 ,1817 untilMarch 3 ,1823 in the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Congresses. He was actively connected with higher education in Tennessee. He retired from active pursuits and resided on Rhea plantation near Blountville, Sullivan County, Tennessee, where he died onMay 27 ,1832 . He was interred in Blountville Cemetery.Rhea County, Tennessee was named in his honor.ource
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