Alfred Burton Greenwood (July 11, 1811 – October 4, 1889) was an American attorney and a politician; he was elected to the United States and

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

congresses as a

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. In 1859 he was appointed under President

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

Commissioner of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal government of the United States, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

, and resigned when Arkansas

seceded Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics lea ...

from the Union in 1861.

Early life and education

Alfred Burton Greenwood was born to Elizabeth (née Ingram) Hugh B. Greenwood in

Franklin County, Georgia Franklin County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,424. The county seat is Carnesville. On February 25, 1784, Franklin and Washington became Georgia's eighth ...

on July 11, 1811. He was educated in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He graduated from the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. He was admitted to the bar in 1832 and relocated to

Decatur, Georgia Decatur is a city in, and the county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, which is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 census, the municipality is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple ZIP Codes in ...

He owned slaves.

Career

In 1837, he was appointed as a quartermaster as part of the Cherokee removal. In December 1838, after seeing what Arkansas had to offer, he resigned his commission. He moved his family to Bentonville, Arkansas and became the small town's first attorney. He went into politics and was elected to two terms in the

Arkansas legislature The General Assembly of Arkansas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house Arkansas Senate with 35 members, and the lower Arkansas House of Representatives with 100 ...

; serving from 1842 to 1845. He served as Arkansas's prosecuting attorney from 1845 to 1851 and the Fourth Judicial Circuit Arkansas from 1851 to 1853. He was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas, and served from March 4, 1853, to March 3, 1859. He was appointed in 1858 as

by President

. He served in that role from May 13, 1859, to April 13, 1861. He was offered the role of

U.S. Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...

after Jacob Thompson resigned, but declined the position. With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Greenwood was elected to the Congress of the Confederate States from Arkansas and served from 1862 to 1865. In 1864 he was appointed tax collector for Arkansas. In 1873, Greenwood moved to

Cassville, Missouri Cassville is a city in Flat Creek Township, Barry County, Missouri, Flat Creek Township, Barry County, Missouri, Barry County, Missouri, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Cassville was 3,190. ...

where he practiced law. He was elected as a judge and served in that role until he returned to Arkansas in June 1879.

Personal life

Greenwood married Sarah A. Hilburn (1819–1884) of Union, South Carolina in 1833. Together, they had 12 children.

Death

Greenwood died on October 4, 1889, in Bentonville. He was interred at Bentonville Cemetery.

Legacy

Both

Greenwood, Arkansas Greenwood is a city in and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States. It is the fifth largest municipality in the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area with a population of 8,952 according to ...

, and Greenwood County, Kansas, are named after him.

References

*Greenwood County Historical Society (Greenwood County, Kan.) (1986). ''The History of Greenwood County, Kansas (Vol 1)'', p. 25. Josten's Publications, Wichita, Kan. {{DEFAULTSORT:Greenwood, Alfred B. 1811 births 1889 deaths People from Franklin County, Georgia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Arkansas Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Arkansas lawyers American slave owners People from Bentonville, Arkansas 19th-century American politicians University of Georgia alumni