Tunstall Quarles ( – January 7, 1855) was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

lawyer and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, as well as one of the pioneer settlers of

Somerset, Kentucky Somerset is a home rule-class city in Pulaski County, Kentucky, United States. The city population was 11,924 according to the 2020 census. It is the seat of Pulaski County. History Somerset was first settled in 1798 by Thomas Hansford and rec ...

in Pulaski County. Quarles was born in

King William County, Virginia King William County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,810. Its county seat is King William. King William County is located in the Middle Peninsula and is included in the Greater ...

. He moved to Kentucky in 1786 with his parents, Tunstall and Susanna Edwards Quarles. He married Pamella Stranger and had ten children.Richmond Times-Dispatch, November 22, 1914
/ref> Quarles came to Somerset sometime before 1812, for in May 1812, he was one of a commission to supervise the building of a County Clerk's office. Quarles was a lawyer and became a member of the state legislature in 1811 and 1812. In the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, he armed and equipped a company of the Second Regiment Kentucky Militia at his own expense and then commanded them. After the war, he served as a circuit court judge. He was elected as a Democrat-Republican to be a member of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Congresses and served from March 1817 until his resignation in June 1820. Quarles was appointed receiver of public moneys for the

Cape Girardeau Cape Girardeau ( , french: Cap-Girardeau ; colloquially referred to as "Cape") is a city in Cape Girardeau and Scott Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. At the 2020 census, the population was 39,540. The city is one of two principal citi ...

land district, with offices at Jackson, Missouri, and served from May 1821 to July 1824. Quarles returned to Somerset in July 1824, where he resumed his law practice and agricultural pursuits. Like so many other early figures of Pulaski County history, Quarles was an avid member of the Freemasons. Using funding from the National Freemason Association, he was able to organize the first bank in Somerset, the Farmers Bank, and served as president from 1825 to 1827. Little else is known about the role of Quarles in masonic lore. In 1828, Quarles was again elected to the state House of Representatives, and was

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 ...

on the Democratic ticket of Jackson and Calhoun. He served a term in the

state Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

in 1840.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quarles, Tunstall 1770s births 1855 deaths Kentucky lawyers Kentucky state court judges Kentucky state senators Kentucky Jacksonians People from King William County, Virginia People from Woodford County, Kentucky People from Somerset, Kentucky Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky 19th-century American politicians