- Willis Alston
Willis Alston (
1769 -10 April 1837 ) was a U.S. Congressman fromNorth Carolina between 1825 and 1831.Born near
Littleton, North Carolina in Halifax County, Alston was said to have attendedPrinceton College , though no records exist of his enrollment, and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was elected to theNorth Carolina House of Commons in 1790 and served for two years; in 1794 he was elected to a single term in theNorth Carolina Senate .In 1798, Alston was elected as a Federalist to the U.S. House, defeating incumbent
Thomas Blount and two other candidates. Alston served fromMarch 4 ,1799 toMarch 3 ,1815 . Early in the Jefferson administration, Alston changed parties and became affiliated with the Republican Party. Local Federalists recruited former Gov.William R. Davie to challenge Alston in 1803, but Alston survived Davie's challenge. Alston chaired the House Committee on Revisal and Unfinished Business during the 13th U.S. Congress. In the election of April 1813, Alston defeated Daniel Mason, the Peace candidate, with the smallest margin of his re-election campaigns (56%-44%), and Alston retired at the end of the term.Although he returned to the state house of commons between 1820 and 1824, Alston returned to Washington in 1825, elected as a Jacksonian Democrat. Serving three terms (
March 4 ,1825 -March 3 ,1831 ), Alston chaired the Committee on Elections during the 21st Congress. He declined to seek re-election in 1830 and returned to agriculture. Alston died in 1837 in Halifax and is buried at his plantation home of Butterwood, near Littleton.References
* [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=71852 OurCampaigns.com]
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