Robert Desha (January 14, 1791February 6, 1849) was an American politician who represented Tennessee's 5th Congressional 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 ...

Early life

Desha was born near Gallatin in the

Southwest Territory The Territory South of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Southwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1790, until June 1, 1796, when it was admitted to the United States a ...

on January 14, 1791, to Robert Desha and Elinor Wheeler. He was the brother of U.S. Representative and Kentucky governor

Joseph Desha Joseph Desha (December 9, 1768 – October 11, 1842) was a U.S. Representative and the ninth governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky. After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, Desha's Huguenot ancestors fled from France to Pennsylvania, wh ...

. He attended the public schools and engaged in mercantile business at Gallatin. He owned slaves.

Career

On March 12, 1812, Desha was appointed as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the Twenty-fourth Regiment of the United States Infantry in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. He also served as a

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

before being honorably discharged on June 15, 1815. Elected as a Jacksonian to the Twentieth and Twenty-first Congresses, Desha served from March 4, 1827, to March 3, 1831. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1830 for the Twenty-second Congress, moved to

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

and continued to engage in mercantile pursuits there.

Personal life

In 1820, Desha was married to Eleanor "Nellie" Shelby (1799–1833), a daughter of David Shelby and Sally (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Bledsoe) Shelby. Together, they were the parents of: * Phoebe Ann Desha (1821–1871), who married

Murray Forbes Smith Murray Forbes Smith (July 21, 1814 – May 4, 1875) was an American commission merchant best known as the father of Alva Belmont. Early life Smith was born on July 21, 1814 in Dumfries, Virginia. He was a son of Edinburgh born George Smith (1765� ...

(1814–1875).Patterson, Jerry E. ''The Vanderbilts.'', pages 120–121. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1989. * Caroline Lula Desha (1828–1876), who married John Hindman Barney (1811–1853). After his death, she married James Lloyd Abbot (1827–1883) in 1857. After her death in 1833, Ellen Porter (1815–1889), a daughter of James Porter and Eliza Porter (née French) Farquharson. Desha died in Mobile on February 6, 1849, aged 58 years old. 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 Magnolia Cemetery.

Descendants

Through his daughter Phoebe, he was a grandfather of Mary Virginia "Jennie" Smith (who married the

Cuban American Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cuban descent or t ...

banker

Fernando Yznaga Fernando Alfonso Yznaga del Valle (October 16, 1850 – March 6, 1901) was a Cuban American banker who was one of the best-known men of New York and foreign society and club life. Described as "one of the most entertaining of men, very clever at e ...

) and Alva Erskine Smith, who married

William Kissam Vanderbilt William Kissam "Willie" Vanderbilt I (December 12, 1849 – July 22, 1920) was an American heir, businessman, philanthropist and horsebreeder. Born into the Vanderbilt family, he managed his family's railroad investments. Early life William Kiss ...

in 1875. They divorced in 1895 and she remarried to

Oliver Belmont Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont (November 12, 1858 – June 10, 1908) was an American banker, socialite, and politician who served one term as a United States Representative from New York from 1901 to 1903. Belmont was a member of the banking firm o ...

in 1896 and remained married until his death in 1908. She was the mother of three children;

Consuelo Vanderbilt Consuelo Vanderbilt-Balsan (formerly Consuelo Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough; born Consuelo Vanderbilt; March 2, 1877 – December 6, 1964) was a socialite and a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family. Her first marriage ...

(later the Duchess of Marlborough following her marriage to

Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough, (13 November 1871 – 30 June 1934), styled Earl of Sunderland until 1883 and Marquess of Blandford between 1883 and 1892, was a British soldier and Conservative politician, and a ...

William Kissam Vanderbilt II William Kissam Vanderbilt II (October 26, 1878 – January 8, 1944) was an American motor racing enthusiast and yachtsman, and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family. Early life He was born on October 26, 1878, in New York City, the seco ...

, and

Harold Stirling Vanderbilt Harold Stirling Vanderbilt CBE (July 6, 1884 – July 4, 1970) was an American railroad executive, a champion yachtsman, an innovator and champion player of contract bridge, and a member of the Vanderbilt family. Early life He was born in Oakdale ...

. Through his granddaughter Alva, he is an ancestor of the 10th, 11th and 12th Dukes of Marlborough.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Desha, Robert 1791 births 1849 deaths People from Sumner County, Tennessee American people of French descent Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee American slave owners People from Mobile, Alabama United States Army officers United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 Military personnel from Tennessee