Isaac Roberts Hawkins (May 16, 1818 – August 12, 1880) was an American soldier,

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

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 ...

for

Tennessee's 7th congressional district The 7th congressional district of Tennessee is a congressional district located in parts of Middle and West Tennessee. It has been represented by Republican Mark E. Green since January 2019. Current boundaries The district is located in both W ...

Biography

Hawkins was born on May 16, 1818 near

Columbia, Tennessee Columbia is a city in and the county seat of Maury County, Tennessee. The population was 41,690 as of the 2020 United States census. Columbia is included in the Nashville metropolitan area. The self-proclaimed "mule capital of the world," Colum ...

Maury County Maury County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee, in the Middle Tennessee region. As of the 2020 census, the population was 100,974. Its county seat is Columbia. Maury County is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro ...

, to Samuel and Nancy Roberts Hawkins. Nancy was the daughter of Gen. Isaac Roberts and his wife Mary "Polly" Johnston Roberts and was the maternal granddaughter of Ann Robertson Johnston Cockrill, an early pioneer who was sister to James Robertson, a founder of Ft Nashborough (later Nashville). Samuel Hawkins' mother was Cassandra Roberts (Isaac Roberts' sister), which made Samuel and Nancy first cousins as well as spouses-not an uncommon practice at that time. Isaac moved with his parents to Carroll County in 1828 and attended the common schools. They lived on land that was part of a 1790 North Carolina land grant received by Gen. Roberts. Isaac engaged in agricultural pursuits, studied law, and 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 ...

in 1843. He commenced practice in

Huntingdon, Tennessee Huntingdon is a town in Carroll County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 4,439 at the 2020 census and 3,985 in 2010. It is the county seat of Carroll County. History European-American settlers named Huntingdon for Memucan Hunt, who f ...

in Carroll County. He was married to Ellen Ott whose sister Justina married Isaac's first cousin Alvin, who later served as governor of Tennessee.

Career

Having served as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

, Hawkins then resumed the practice of law. A staunch Unionist, he was a delegate from Tennessee to a peace conference held in

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, ...

, in 1861 in an effort to devise a means to prevent the impending war. He was elected to the convention for the consideration of Federal relations. He was judge of the circuit court in 1862. He entered the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

of the 7th Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry in 1862. He was captured with his regiment at

Union City, Tennessee Union City is located in Obion County, Tennessee, United States. The 2020 census reported the population of the town as 11,170. It is the principal urban settlement of the surrounding micropolitan area, which includes Obion County and Fulton Count ...

in 1864 and imprisoned. He was exchanged in August 1864 and resumed active service, being in command of the Cavalry force in western Kentucky until the close of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. He was commissioned by Governor

William Gannaway Brownlow William Gannaway "Parson" Brownlow (August 29, 1805April 29, 1877) was an American newspaper publisher, Methodist minister, book author, prisoner of war, lecturer, and politician who served as the 17th Governor of Tennessee from 1865 to 1869 and ...

as one of the chancellors of Tennessee in 1865 but declined to qualify. Hawkins was a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

in 1868. Upon the readmission of Tennessee to representation, he was elected as a Unionist to the

Thirty-ninth Congress The 39th 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, 1865, ...

and re-elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the Fortieth and Forty-first Congresses. He served from December 4, 1865 to March 3, 1871. During the Forty-first Congress, he was the chairman of the

United States House Committee on Mileage The United States House Committee on Mileage is a former standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The jurisdiction of the committee is described in Rule XI: "The ascertaining of the travel of Members of the House shall be m ...

Death

Hawkins died in Huntingdon, Tennessee on August 12, 1880 (age 62 years, 88 days). He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

at the Hawkins family burial ground near Huntingdon.

References

External links

*
Hawkins' Tories: A Regimental and Social History of the 7th Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry USA

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Isaac Roberts 1818 births 1880 deaths People from Maury County, Tennessee Tennessee Unionists Unionist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Tennessee lawyers American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Union Army officers People of Tennessee in the American Civil War 19th-century American politicians People from Huntingdon, Tennessee 19th-century American lawyers