Joseph Hayes Acklen (May 20, 1850 – September 28, 1938) was an American politician who served as a

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 ...

from

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

from 1878 to 1881.

Biography

Early life

Joseph Hayes Acklen was born in

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 ...

, to Adelicia and Joseph Alexander Smith Acklen, a wealthy couple whose summer home was located in Nashville, while he also grew up on plantations in

. He had a brother,

William Hayes Ackland William Hayes Ackland (born William H. Acklen, September 6, 1855 – February 16, 1940) was an American lawyer, writer, and art collector from Nashville, Tennessee. He lived most of his life away from Tennessee, in Washington, DC, and various soci ...

. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, his parents sided with the Confederacy, and the father fled to the family's Louisiana plantation, where he died in 1863. He was educated by private tutors. He attended Burlington Military College, near

Burlington, New Jersey Burlington is a city in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 9,743. Burlington was first incorporated on October 24, 1693, and was r ...

, in 1864 and 1865, and graduated from two foreign institutions (École de Neuilly, Paris, and Swiss University,

Vevey Vevey (; frp, Vevê; german: label=former German, Vivis) is a town in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the district of ...

). He returned to the United States and graduated from

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842. The campus's current historic buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842-1861 The university was founded by the Cumberlan ...

's law school in

Lebanon, Tennessee Lebanon is the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,431 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in Middle Tennessee, approximately east of downtown Nashville. Lebanon is part of the Nashville Metropolit ...

in 1871.

Career

He began practicing law in Nashville and later practiced in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, but abandoned the practice of law and moved to Louisiana to superintend the family's sugar plantations near Pattersonville (now

Patterson Patterson may refer to: People * Patterson (surname) Places ;Canada * Pattersons Corners, Ontario *Patterson Township, Ontario *Patterson, Calgary a neighbourhood in Calgary, Alberta. ;United States of America * Patterson, Arkansas *Patterson, C ...

) in Saint Mary Parish. He served as

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the Louisiana Militia in 1876. In November of that year, claiming

voting fraud Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect holder ...

, he and other Democrats objected to the reelection of

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 ...

Chester Bidwell Darrall Chester Bidwell Darrall (June 24, 1842January 1, 1908) was an American Republican Congressman from Louisiana during the latter half of the 19th Century. Early life and military service He was born near Addison, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, a ...

to represent

Louisiana's 3rd congressional district Louisiana's 3rd congressional district is a United States congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district covers the southwestern and south central portion of the state, ranging from the Texas border to the Atchafalaya River ...

; after protracted settlement of the various controversies surrounding the 1876 presidential election, on February 20, 1878, Darrall left the seat and was replaced by Acklen, for the remaining half of the

Forty-fifth Congress The 45th 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, 1877, ...

. Acklen was reelected, to the

Forty-sixth Congress The 46th 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, 1879 ...

, and served from 20 February 1878 to 4 March 1881. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1880, and Darrall regained the seat for one term (the Forty-seventh Congress). On leaving Congress, he declined an appointment by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governor ...

to be a judge on the Federal district court of Louisiana and instead resumed the practice of law, in

Franklin, Louisiana Franklin is a small city in and the parish seat of St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 7,660 at the 2010 census. The city is located on Bayou Teche, southeast of the cities of Lafayette, () and New Iberia () and ) north ...

. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1882 to the Forty-eighth Congress. He returned to Nashville, in 1885 and continued the practice of law. He served as chairman of the Democratic executive committee of

Davidson County, Tennessee Davidson County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in the heart of Middle Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 715,884, making it the second most populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Nashville ...

from 1886 to 1894. He served as member of the Nashville City Council from 1900 to 1904. He then served as president of the Tennessee State bar association in 1901 and 1902. He served as general insurance counsel of Tennessee from 1903 to 1907. He was State warden of the Tennessee department of game, fish, and forestry from 1903 to 1913. He served as general counsel of the National Association of Game and Fish Commissioners of the United States from 1905 to 1912, when he was elected president of the Association. He was

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the s ...

counsel for the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad from 1907 to 1911. From 1913 to 1914, he served under Democrat U.S. President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

as chief game warden of the United States. Acklen was author of numerous articles on

ornithology Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

, fish culture,

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

, and

field sports Field sports are outdoor sports that take place in the wilderness or sparsely populated rural areas, where there are vast areas of uninhabited greenfields. The term specifically refer to activities that mandate sufficiently large open spaces and ...

. He served as chairman of the State central committee on the Tennessee constitutional convention from 1923 to 1927.

Death and legacy

He died in Nashville on September 28, 1938. He is interred there in Mount Olivet Cemetery. His family's Nashville property, the Belmont Mansion and its grounds, now forms a large part of the campus of

Belmont University Belmont University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporated in 1951 as Belmont College. It be ...

, where the home continues as a museum. It is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

.- Belmont Mansion, Nashville.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acklen, Joseph Hayes 1850 births 1938 deaths American conservationists American fishers American ornithologists Birdwatchers Cumberland School of Law alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana Louisiana lawyers Metropolitan Council members (Nashville, Tennessee) People from Franklin, Louisiana People from Patterson, Louisiana People of Tennessee in the American Civil War People of Louisiana in the American Civil War Samford University alumni Tennessee Democrats Tennessee lawyers Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves