Tristram Benjamin Bethea (April 12, 1810 – September 6, 1876) was a prominent Alabama lawyer and politician. He was born in South Carolina, and moved to Alabama at an early age. He served several terms in the
Alabama Legislature
The Alabama Legislature is the legislative branch of the state government of Alabama. It is a bicameral body composed of the House of Representatives and Senate. It is one of the few state legislatures in which members of both chambers serv ...
.
Early life
Bethea was born on April 12, 1810, in
Marion County, South Carolina
Marion County is a county located in the coastal plain of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 29,183. Its county seat is Marion. It is a majority-minority county.
Early European traders in the Carolina ...
. His paternal ancestors were early French
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
settlers of South Carolina. He came with his parents to
Claiborne, Alabama
Claiborne is a ghost town on a bluff above the Alabama River in Monroe County, Alabama.
History
Situated near the Federal Road, Claiborne began during the Mississippi Territory period with a ferry over the river. During the Creek War a large st ...
during his childhood. His father died a premature death. As a consequence, he had a simple early education. He then read law under
Arthur P. Bagby in Claiborne and later under C. M. Conrad in
.
Adulthood
He moved to
Wilcox County, Alabama
Wilcox County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,600. Its county seat is Camden.
History
Wilcox County was established on December 13, 1819. The county was named after Joseph M. Wilcox, a US ...
in 1832, where he practiced law. He 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 ...
in 1850 and was elected to the Alabama Legislature from Mobile on the Democratic ticket three years later. In 1855, he was reelected to the state legislature, this time as representative of the
Know-Nothing Party
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". ...
. He permanently moved to
Montgomery County, Alabama
Montgomery County is located in the State of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, its population was 228,954, making it the fifth-most populous county in Alabama. Its county seat is Montgomery, the state capital. Montgomery County is included in th ...
shortly afterward. He died in Montgomery County on September 6, 1876.
Personal life
Tristram Bethea married Eugenia Volanto Bethea of Wilcox County, Alabama. She was the daughter of David Bethea and Mary Ann Pledger. They had seven children: Mary Ann, Sarah Cornelia, Henry, Alfred, David, Theodore, and Andrew Jackson (A. J.) Bethea.
See also
*
Tristram Bethea House
The Tristram Bethea House, also known as Pleasant Ridge, is a historic Plantation house in the Southern United States, plantation house in Canton Bend, Alabama, Canton Bend, Alabama. The two-story brick house was built in 1842 in the Federal arc ...
, built by Bethea in 1842.
References
1810 births
1876 deaths
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