LaFayette "Fayette" McMullen (May 18, 1805 – November 8, 1880) was a 19th-century politician, driver, teamster and banker from the U.S. state of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and the second appointed Governor of

Washington Territory The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

Early life and family

Born in Estillville, Virginia, McMullen attended private schools as a child. He was a

driver and

teamster A teamster is the American term for a truck driver or a person who drives teams of draft animals. Further, the term often refers to a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a labor union in the United States and Canada. Origi ...

, working in the family owned business and driving a coach. He married Mary (Polly) Wood, daughter of the sheriff, in 1826. They had no children.

Career

McMullen became a member of the

Senate of Virginia The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

in 1839, serving until 1849. He was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to 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 ...

in 1848, serving from 1849 to 1857. There, McMullen served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Navy from 1851 to 1855 and chairman of the

Committee on Expenditures on Public Buildings The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful panels in the ...

from 1855 to 1857. McMullen was a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

in 1852 and 1856. McMullen was appointed by 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 ...

, as Territorial Governor of Washington in 1857, serving until 1859. McMullen was elected as a Democrat to the Confederate House of Representatives in 1863, serving from 1864 until the crumbling of the Confederacy in 1865. Afterwards, he engaged in agricultural and banking pursuits and unsuccessfully ran for

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

in 1878.

Death

McMullen died in a train accident on November 8, 1880 in

Wytheville, Virginia Wytheville is a town in, and the county seat of, Wythe County, in southwestern Virginia, United States. It is named after George Wythe, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, and mentor to Thomas Jefferson. Wytheville's populat ...

, and is interred at Round Hill Cemetery in

Marion, Virginia Marion is a town in, and the county seat of, Smyth County, Virginia, United States. It is positioned upon Interstate 81, in the Blue Ridge portion of the Southern Appalachian mountains in Southwest Virginia. The town is named for American Revoluti ...

References

External links

*

at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

Ancestry.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:McMullen, Fayette 1805 births 1880 deaths Democratic Party Virginia state senators Governors of Washington Territory Railway accident deaths in the United States Accidental deaths in Virginia Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Virginia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia 19th-century American politicians People from Gate City, Virginia

Early life and family

Career

Death

References

Further reading

External links