Washington Poe (July 13, 1800 – October 7, 1876) was an American Whig politician and lawyer from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Background

Born in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

, Poe studied law at the

Litchfield Law School The Litchfield Law School of Litchfield, Connecticut, was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietary school was unaffiliated with any college or university. (Whi ...

in 1823, and was admitted to the Georgia bar in May 1825. Poe worked in Oliver Prince's law practice and became Solicitor General of the Macon Circuit Court. In January 1836, he was appointed the delegate from Central Georgia and his job was to determine the route of a railroad from Cincinnati, Ohio to the South. In the same year, Poe became the Vice President of the Macon Lyceum and Library Association. In 1840, Washington Poe was a speaker and delegate for Bibb County at a convention to ratify the anti Van Buren Presidential slate. In 1841, he was elected mayor of

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

. He had been solicitor-general for the Macon circuit. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, he was the postmaster of Macon, Georgia. In 1844, Poe was elected to 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 ...

, but resigned. He was a supporter of

Henry Clay Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state, al ...

and served as the President of Macon's Henry Clay Club in 1844. Poe was a delegate to ''The Georgia Secession Convention of 1861'' in Milledgeville, GA —voting in favor of secession and signing Georgia's

Ordinance of Secession An Ordinance of Secession was the name given to multiple resolutions drafted and ratified in 1860 and 1861, at or near the beginning of the Civil War, by which each seceding Southern state or territory formally declared secession from the United ...

on January 19, 1861. During the Civil War, Poe served as Postmaster and participated in public life.

Family

Washington Poe married Selina Shirley Norman on December 24, 1829.

Notes

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Poe, Washington 1800 births 1876 deaths 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Georgia (U.S. state) postmasters Georgia (U.S. state) Whigs Mayors of Macon, Georgia People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War Politicians from Augusta, Georgia Signers of the Georgia Ordinance of Secession

Background

Family

See also

Notes