Thomas Lilbourne Anderson (December 8, 1808 – March 6, 1885) was a slave owner and practicing lawyer who served 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

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

for two terms from 1857 to 1861.

Biography

He was born in

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the 2 ...

, and was admitted to the Kentucky bar in 1828. He began the practice of law in

Franklin, Kentucky Franklin is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Simpson County, Kentucky, United States. The county is located on the south central border of the state, and its population was 10,176 at the 2020 census. Kentucky Downs, formerly ...

, later moving to

Palmyra, Missouri Palmyra is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Missouri, United States. The population was 3,595 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Hannibal Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Palmyra was platted in 1819, and named after P ...

, in 1830.

Political career

He was elected to the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

in 1840, and remained a member of that body through 1844. He also served as a member of the Missouri Constitutional Convention of 1845. On December 24, 1853, he condemned mass escapes of enslaved people due to their high cost to slave owners.

Congress

He was first elected to the United States Congress in 1857 as a member of the American Party (Know-Nothing), winning reelection in 1859 as an

Independent Democrat In U.S. politics, an independent Democrat is an individual who loosely identifies with the ideals of the Democratic Party but chooses not to be a formal member of the party (chooses to be an independent) or is denied the Democratic nomination i ...

. He also served as a presidential elector for the Whig Party in 1844, 1848, 1852, and 1856.

Death and burial

He died in Palmyra in 1885 and was interred in the City Cemetery.

References

*''Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume 1607-1896.'' Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1967. 1808 births 1885 deaths Politicians from Bowling Green, Kentucky Missouri Whigs Know-Nothing members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri Independent Democrat members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri Members of the Missouri House of Representatives Kentucky lawyers American slave owners People from Marion County, Missouri 19th-century American lawyers People of Missouri in the American Civil War {{Missouri-politician-stub