Henry Cooper (Tennessee politician)

Henry Cooper (August 22, 1827 – February 4, 1884) was a Tennessee attorney, judge, and politician who served one term in the United States Senate, 1871–1877. During his career, Cooper had various political affiliations, including Whig, Know Nothing, and Democrat.^[1]

Henry Cooper
United States Senator from Tennessee
In office March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1877
Preceded by	Joseph S. Fowler
Succeeded by	Isham G. Harris
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives
In office 1853-1855 1857-1859
Personal details
Born	(1827-08-22)August 22, 1827 Columbia, Tennessee, US
Died	February 4, 1884(1884-02-04) (aged 56) Tierra Blanca, Guadalupe y Calvo, Chihuahua, Mexico
Political party	Democratic

Early life

Henry Cooper was born on August 22, 1827, in Columbia, Tennessee.^[2] He had three brothers, including William Frierson Cooper and Edmund Cooper, and two half-brothers, including Duncan Brown Cooper.^[1]

Cooper attended Dixon Academy in Shelbyville, Tennessee, and graduated from Jackson College in Jackson, Tennessee, in 1847.^[2] He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1850.^[2]

Political career

Cooper served as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1853 to 1855 and again from 1857 to 1859.^[2] He was appointed judge of the former 7th Judicial Circuit in April, 1862.^[1] In January, 1866 he resigned this position and moved to Lebanon, Tennessee, where he became a professor at the Cumberland School of Law.^[2] In 1867 he moved to Nashville, where he served in the Tennessee State Senate, 1869-1870.^[2]

The Tennessee General Assembly elected him to the United States Senate for the term beginning March 4, 1871.^[2] He did not seek another term, and his Senate service ended on March 3, 1877.^[2]

Mining career and death

By the early 1880s, he was engaged in mining operations in Tierra Blanca, Guadalupe y Calvo, Chihuahua, Mexico.^[2]

Cooper was murdered there by bandits on February 4, 1884.^[3] He was buried nearby, and a cenotaph to his memory was erected at Old City Cemetery in Shelbyville, Tennessee.

References

1. Johnson, Andrew (1979). The Papers of Andrew Johnson. Vol. 5. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press. pp. 300–301. ISBN 978-0-87049-273-0.
2. Onofrio, Jan (2000). Tennessee Biographical Dictionary. Santa Barbara, CA: Somerset Publishers, Inc. pp. 212–213. ISBN 978-0-403-09700-5.
3. "Ex-Senator Cooper Murdered" (PDF). The New York Times. New York, NY. February 6, 1884. p. 5.

Sources

• United States Congress. "Henry Cooper (id: C000751)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Henry Cooper at The Political Graveyard

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

U.S. Senate
Preceded by Joseph S. Fowler	U.S. senator (Class 2) from Tennessee March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1877 Served alongside: William Gannaway Brownlow, Andrew Johnson, David M. Key and James E. Bailey	Succeeded by Isham G. Harris