Albert Galiton Watkins (May 5, 1818November 9, 1895) was an American politician and a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

Biography

Watkins was born near

Jefferson City Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the principa ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, on May 5, 1818. He graduated from Holston

College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

in Tennessee and studied law. He was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

and began private practice at Panther Springs, Tennessee, in 1839. Watkins was a slaveholder.

Career

In 1845, Watkins was a member of the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

. He was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-first and Thirty-second Congresses representing

Tennessee's 2nd congressional district The 2nd congressional district of Tennessee is a congressional district in East Tennessee. It has been represented by Republican Tim Burchett since January 2019. Current boundaries The district is located in East Tennessee and borders Kentucky ...

. He served from March 4, 1849, to March 3, 1853. He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1852 to the

Thirty-third Congress The 33rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1853, ...

. After the districts had been reapportioned, he was elected to represent

Tennessee's 1st congressional district Tennessee's 1st congressional district is the congressional district of northeast Tennessee, including all of Carter, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington counties and parts of Jefferson Count ...

as a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

in both the Thirty-fourth and the Thirty-fifth Congresses. During that time, he served from March 4, 1855, to March 3, 1859. He was not a candidate for re-election in 1858.

Death

Watkins engaged in the

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

and died in Mooresburg,

Hawkins County, Tennessee Hawkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 56,721. Its county seat is Rogersville, Hawkins County is part of the Kingsport–Bristol–Bristol, TN- VA Metropolitan Stat ...

, on November 9, 1895. He was interred in Westview Cemetery in Jefferson City, Tennessee.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Albert Galiton 1818 births 1895 deaths People from Jefferson County, Tennessee American people of Welsh descent Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Tennessee lawyers Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves