Reese Bowen Brabson (September 16, 1817 – August 16, 1863) was an American politician who represented Tennessee's 3rd district in 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 ...

from 1859 to 1861. He also served one term in the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

, from 1851 to 1852. Brabson opposed secession, and took no active part in the Civil War.

Life and career

Brabson was born at

Brabson's Ferry Plantation Brabson's Ferry Plantation is a Pioneer Century farm and former antebellum plantation near the U.S. city of Sevierville, Tennessee.Caneta Hankins,State Program Recognizes Sevier County Farm for Contributions" Middle Tennessee State University ...

near

Sevierville Sevierville ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sevier County, Tennessee, located in eastern Tennessee. The population was 17,889 at the 2020 United States Census. History Native Americans of the Woodland period were among the first human ...

on September 16, 1817. He graduated from

Maryville College Maryville College is a private liberal arts college in Maryville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1819 by Presbyterian minister Isaac L. Anderson for the purpose of furthering education and enlightenment into the West. The college is one of the ...

in Maryville, Tennessee in 1840, studied law in Dandridge,Gary C. Jenkins,
Reese Bowen Brabson
" ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture''. Retrieved: 2 May 2013. 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 1848. He commenced practice of law in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

, in partnership with James A. Whiteside. Brabson was an

elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of ...

for presidential candidate

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

in 1848. Oliver Perry Temple,
Reese B. Brabson
" ''Notable Men of Tennessee'' (Cosmopolitan Press, 1912), pp. 75-76. He represented Hamilton County in the

for the 29th

Tennessee General Assembly The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title ...

(1851–1852).
Tennessee Blue Book
', p. 220. Retrieved: 2 May 2013. In 1856, he ran for United States Congress for

Tennessee's 3rd congressional district The 3rd congressional district of Tennessee is a congressional district in East Tennessee. It has been represented by Republican Chuck Fleischmann since January 2011. Current boundaries The district comprises two halves, joined together through ...

on the

Know Nothing The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

ticket, but ultimately lost the election to the incumbent

Samuel Axley Smith Samuel Axley Smith was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the Tennessee's 3rd congressional district, 3rd congressional district of Tennessee. Biography Smith was born in Monroe County, Tennes ...

. Brabson was elected as a member of the

Opposition Party Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...

to the Thirty-sixth Congress, serving from March 4, 1859, to March 3, 1861. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1860. During the presidential campaign of 1860, Brabson canvassed for the Constitutional Union candidate, John Bell. Although a slaveholder, Brabson opposed secession on the eve of the Civil War. When Tennessee seceded in June 1861, he returned to his residence at Chattanooga, refusing to take up arms against either side, though offered a commission by both. As a lawyer, he defended

James J. Andrews James J. Andrews (c. 1829 – June 7, 1862) was a Kentucky civilian who worked for the Union Army during the early years of the American Civil War. He led a daring raid behind enemy lines on the Western and Atlantic Railroad, known as the ...

, a Union operative facing

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

for leading the raid known as the Great Locomotive Chase in 1862. But he also opened his home to the wounded Confederate casualties following the Battle of Stones River in early 1863. Brabson succumbed to

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

on August 16, 1863. He was

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 ...

in the Citizens Cemetery in Chattanooga.

Family and legacy

Brabson married Sarah Maria Keith, daughter of Judge Charles F. and Elizabeth D. (Hale) Keith, of McMinn County. The couple had six children, John Bowen, Ada Elizabeth, Maria Marshall, Catherine Douglass, Mary, and Rose. Brabson was the uncle of Charles K. Bell, a U.S. Representative from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Brabson's home, though extensively altered, still stands on East Fifth Street in Chattanooga. The plantation where he was raised,

, still stands near Sevierville and is listed 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 ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brabson, Reese Bowen 1817 births 1853 deaths Tennessee Whigs Tennessee Know Nothings Tennessee Oppositionists Members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Southern Unionists in the American Civil War People from Sevier County, Tennessee Politicians from Chattanooga, Tennessee Maryville College alumni Deaths from typhoid fever 19th-century American legislators Opposition Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves