Henry S. Geyer

Infobox Senator
name=Henry Sheffie Geyer


width=200px
jr/sr=United States Senator
state=Missouri
party=Whig, Opposition
term=March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1857
preceded=Thomas Hart Benton
succeeded=Trusten Polk
date of birth=December 9, 1790
place of birth=Frederick, Maryland, USA
date of death=March 5, 1859
place of death=St. Louis, Missouri, USA
spouse=
profession=Politician, Lawyer
footnotes=

Henry Sheffie Geyer (December 9, 1790 – March 5, 1859) was a politician, lawyer, and soldier from Missouri. Born in Frederick, Maryland, he was instructed privately, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1811 and practiced law in Frederick. During the War of 1812 he served as a first lieutenant in the Thirty-sixth Regiment, Maryland Infantry from 1813 to 1815; in the latter year he settled in St. Louis, Missouri and resumed the practice of law. He was a member of the Territorial assembly in 1818 and a delegate to the constitutional convention in 1820. From 1820 to 1824 he was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives and again in 1834-1835, serving as speaker on two occasions.

Geyer was elected as a Whig to the U.S. Senate and served from March 4, 1851, to March 3, 1857; he was not a candidate for reelection and resumed the practice of law in St. Louis. He was attorney for the defendant slave-owner in the Dred Scott case.

Geyer died in St. Louis in 1859; interment was in Bellefontaine Cemetery. Geyer Street in St. Louis is named in his honor.

External links

* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=23132 Henry S. Geyer] at Find A Grave