John McCormick Lea (1818–1903) was an American
Whig politician. He served as the
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
from 1849 to 1850.
Early life
Lea was born in
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...
on December 25, 1818.
He graduated from the
University of Nashville
University of Nashville was a private university in Nashville, Tennessee. It was established in 1806 as Cumberland College. It existed as a distinct entity until 1909; operating at various times a medical school, a four-year military college, a ...
.
His father was
Luke Lea (1783–1851), a
United States 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 ...
from Tennessee, and his mother, Susan Wells McCormick.
Career
Lea was a lawyer and a circuit judge.
He served as vice-president of
First American National Bank
First American National Bank was a subsidiary of First American Corporation, a financial institution based in Nashville, Tennessee, that served the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and Virginia. It was headquartered in the First American ...
.
He served as President of the Board of Trustees of the University of Nashville.
From 1842 to 1845, he served as Assistant U.S. District Attorney.
[Tennessee Portrait Project](_blank)
/ref> From 1849 to 1850, he served as Mayor of Nashville.[Nashville Library](_blank)
/ref> He was part of the commission to surrender Nashville to 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 ...
in February 1862. From 1888 to 1903, he served as President of the Tennessee Historical Society
The Tennessee Historical Society is a historical society for the U.S. state of Tennessee. It was established in 1849. Its founding president from 1849 to 1856 was Nathaniel Cross, a Princeton-educated professor of Ancient Languages at the Universi ...
.
Personal life and death
Lea married Elizabeth Overton in 1843. They had three sons, Overton, Robert B. and Luke Lea. He attended the First Presbyterian Church. He died in Monteagle, Tennessee
Monteagle is a town in Franklin, Grundy, and Marion counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, in the Cumberland Plateau region of the southeastern part of the state. The population was 1,238 at the 2000 census – 804 of the town's 1,238 resi ...
on September 21, 1903, and he is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery.
References
*Robert Ambrose Halley, ''John McCormick Lea, the ideal citizen: A biographical sketch'' (Cumberland Press, 1904).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lea, John McCormick
1818 births
1903 deaths
Politicians from Knoxville, Tennessee
Tennessee Whigs
19th-century American politicians
Mayors of Nashville, Tennessee