Hopkins Lacy Turney (October 3, 1797August 1, 1857) was a Democratic

U.S. Representative 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

and

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

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 ...

Biography

Turney was born in the Smith County settlement of

Dixon Springs, Tennessee Dixon Springs is an unincorporated community in Smith County, Tennessee, United States. It is located along Tennessee State Route 25 (Dixon Springs Highway) between Carthage and Hartsville. Dixon Springs has a post office, with zip code 37057. ...

. As a youth, he was apprenticed to a

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

. He served in the

Seminole War The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native American nation which formed in the region during the early 1700s. Hostilities ...

in 1818. Subsequent to this he studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

, and passed 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 ...

examination and began a practice in

Jasper, Tennessee Jasper is a town in and the county seat of Marion County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,612 at the 2020 census. The town was formed in 1820 from lands acquired from Betsy Pack (1770–1851), daughter of Cherokee Chief John Lo ...

. Later he moved to

Winchester, Tennessee Winchester is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Tullahoma, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population of Winchester as of the 2020 census was 9,375. History Winchester was ...

, continuing the practice of law. He owned slaves. He was first elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1828. He married Teresa Francis, the daughter of Miller Francis and Hannah Henry, in 1826. She was born December 9, 1809 and died September 5, 1879. Hopkins and Teresa were the parents of nine children. Their son

Peter Turney Peter Turney (September 22, 1827October 19, 1903) was an American politician, soldier, and jurist, who served as the 26th governor of Tennessee from 1893 to 1897. He was also a justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court from 1870 to 1893, and served ...

(September 22, 1827October 19, 1903) was Chief Justice of the

Tennessee Supreme Court The Tennessee Supreme Court is the ultimate judicial tribunal of the state of Tennessee. Roger A. Page is the Chief Justice. Unlike other states, in which the state attorney general is directly elected or appointed by the governor or state leg ...

from 1870 to 1893; and served as

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

from 1893 to 1897. He was then elected to the U.S. House, serving three terms in that body from 1837 to 1843, the 25th through 27th Congresses. Subsequent to this he was elected by the Tennessee General Assembly to the U.S. Senate, returning to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, after a two-year hiatus and serving one six-year term in that body, where he was chairman of the

U.S. Senate Committee on Retrenchment The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

for four years and the U.S. Senate Committee on Patents and the Patent Office for two before returning to his law practice, which he engaged in until shortly before his death. He is buried in Winchester.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turney, Hopkins L. 1797 births 1857 deaths People from Smith County, Tennessee American people of Swiss-German descent Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Democratic Party United States senators from Tennessee Democratic Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Tennessee lawyers American slave owners People from Jasper, Tennessee People from Winchester, Tennessee 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers American people of the Seminole Wars Military personnel from Tennessee United States senators who owned slaves