Maecenas Eason Benton (January 29, 1848 – April 27, 1924) was 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 Missouri. He was the father of Thomas Hart Benton, who gained fame as a painter of the American Scene.

Biography

Born near

Dyersburg, Tennessee Dyersburg is a city and the county seat of Dyer County, Tennessee, United States. It is located in northwest Tennessee, northeast of Memphis on the Forked Deer River. The population was 16,164 at the 2020 census, down 5.72% from the 2010 census. ...

, Benton attended two west Tennessee academies and

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...

. He was graduated from the Cumberland School of Law at Cumberland University,

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 1870. He served in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Neosho, Missouri. He served as prosecuting attorney of Newton County, Missouri, from 1878 to 1884 and subsequently the United States attorney from March 1885 to July 1889. He also served as delegate to the

1896 Democratic National Convention The 1896 Democratic National Convention, held at the Chicago Coliseum from July 7 to July 11, was the scene of William Jennings Bryan's nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate for the 1896 U.S. presidential election. At age 36, B ...

. On June 24, 1888 he married Elizabeth Wise of Waxahachie, Texas.

Congressional career

Benton was elected as a Democrat to the 55th, 56th, 57th, and 58th congresses (March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1905). An unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1904 to the

59th Congress The 59th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1905, t ...

, he resumed his law practice in Neosho, Missouri, and served as member of the State constitutional conventions in 1922 and 1924. He died in Springfield, Missouri, April 27, 1924 of throat cancer and was interred in the Odd Fellows Cemetery, Neosho, Missouri. He is pictured in the 1939 Neosho centennial mural, in Neosho, Missouri, by James Duard Marshall.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benton, Maecenas Eason 1848 births 1924 deaths People from Dyersburg, Tennessee People of Tennessee in the American Civil War Confederate States Army personnel Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri United States Attorneys for the Western District of Missouri 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American politicians Deaths from throat cancer Deaths from cancer in Missouri