Pryor Lea Law License
This collection consists of Pryor Lea's license to practice law in Tennessee, dated June 10, 1817. Lea was politician and railroad entrepreneur. He served in the 2nd district for Tennessee in the House of Representatives.
Dates
- 1817 June 10
Conditions Governing Access
Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Conditions Governing Use
The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Extent
0.1 Linear Feet (1 folder in a small flat storage box)
Abstract
This collection consists of Pryor Lea's license to practice law in Tennessee, dated June 10, 1817. Lea was a politician and railroad entrepreneur. He served in the 2nd district for Tennessee in the House of Representatives.
Biographical/Historical Note
Pryor Lea was born on August 31, 1794, in Knox County. He was the son of Major Lea and Lavinia (Jarnagin) Lea. Lea attended Greeneville College and after studied law. He fought in the Creek War under Andrew Jackson and clerked for the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1816. After he passed the bar in 1817, he started to practice law in Knoxville. In 1821, he was appointed to the Board of Trustees at East Tennessee College (University of Tennessee) and later appointed secretary. In 1827, he was elected to the House of Representatives and served until 1831.
Lea developed an interest in railroad construction and in 1836; he moved to Mississippi to promote the railroad construction and did the same in Texas around 1846. In 1875, he was elected to serve as a delegate at the Constitutional Convention.
Pryor married Maria Kennedy (1799-1828) on October 6, 1818, and the couple produced four children. He was married two more times; his second marriage was to Minerva Heard (d. 1835) and his third was to Mary Perkins (1810-1866).
He died on September 14, 1879, and is buried in Goliad County, Texas.
Arrangement
This material is in one folder.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository