Absalom Harris Chappell (December 18, 1801 – December 11, 1878) was an American politician and lawyer. He served in the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. ...

Georgia Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Legal provisions The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, with the lower house being the Georgia Ho ...

, and U.S. House of Representatives. He was a slaveholder.

Biography

Absalom Harris Chappell was born on December 18, 1801 in

Mount Zion, Georgia Mount Zion is a city in Carroll County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,696 at the 2010 census. History The City of Mount Zion was established in 1852 by Reverend Thomas Hicks Martin (March 10, 1822 - June 14, 1914), after his family ...

, the oldest son of Joseph and Dorothy Harris Chappell. He attended the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

in 1820; however, he did not graduate from the school. Chappell continued the study of law under the tutelage of

Augustin Smith Clayton Augustin Smith Clayton (November 27, 1783 – June 21, 1839) was a jurist and politician from the American state of Georgia. Clayton was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, attended the Richmond Academy in Augusta, Georgia, and graduated wi ...

, passed the state bar exam, and became a practicing lawyer. Chappell was elected as to the

in 1832 and 1833 and served in the

from 1834 through 1839. Upon the resignation of Representative-elect John B. Lamar, Chappell was elected as his replacement in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1843 and served in that position until 1845 when he did not seek re-election. Chappell was subsequently elected to one more term as a state senator in 1845 and served as the president of that body. In 1842, he married Loretto Rebecca Lamar, the younger sister of Judge

Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar (I) Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar (July 15, 1797 – July 4, 1834) was an attorney and jurist in his native Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. His son Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II followed him into law and was appointed from Mississippi as a S ...

and

Mirabeau B. Lamar Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar (August 16, 1798 – December 25, 1859) was an Lawyer, attorney born in Georgia, who became a Texas politician, poet, diplomat, and soldier. He was a leading Texas political figure during the Republic of Texas, Texas ...

, second President of Texas. The Chappells had five children who survived to adulthood. Their four sons had prominent careers, one as a president of normal schools and another as a state legislator. Chappell died in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

on December 11, 1878 and was buried in Linwood Cemetery (also known as Old City Cemetery) in that same city.

References

''History of the University of Georgia'', Thomas Walter Reed, Imprint: Athens, Georgia : University of Georgia, ca. 1949 p.188
* William J. Northen,
Men of Mark in Georgia
', A. B. Caldwell, 1912, p. 285.
"Lamar-Chappell Collection (MC 1)Historical Note" Columbus State University

External links

* 1801 births 1878 deaths People from Carroll County, Georgia Georgia (U.S. state) state senators Members of the Georgia House of Representatives Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers University of Georgia people Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) American slave owners 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers {{GeorgiaUS-politician-stub