John Morgan Bright (January 20, 1817  October 2, 1911) was an American politician that served as an U.S. Representative from Tennessee.

Quick Facts Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 5th district, Preceded by ...
John Morgan Bright
Thumb
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Tennessee's 5th district
In office
March 4, 1875  March 3, 1881
Preceded byHorace Harrison
Succeeded byRichard Warner
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Tennessee's 4th district
In office
March 4, 1871  March 3, 1875
Preceded byLewis Tillman
Succeeded bySamuel M. Fite
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives
In office
1847-1848
Personal details
Born(1817-01-20)January 20, 1817
Fayetteville, Tennessee
DiedOctober 3, 1911(1911-10-03) (aged 94)
Fayetteville, Tennessee
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
  • Judith C. Clark Bright
  • Zerilda B Buckner Bright
  • Isabella Buckner Bright
Children
  • James Clark Bright
  • Golding Bright
  • W. C. Bright
  • Robert Lucius Bright
  • John Morgan Bright
  • Anna Mary Bright
  • Susan Catherine Bright
  • Judith Margaret Bright
  • Becham Bright
  • Anthoney Buckner Bright
  • David Mitchel Bright
  • Mathew M Bright
  • Samuel Bright
Alma materNashville University Transylvania University
Profession
Close

Biography

Born in Fayetteville, Tennessee, Bright was the son of James and Nancy Morgan Bright. He attended the schools of Fayetteville and Bingham's School in Hillsboro, North Carolina. He graduated from Nashville University in September 1839. In March 1841 he graduated from the law department of Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky.[1]

Bright first married Judith C. Clark and they had nine children, James Clark Bright, Golding Bright, W. C. Bright, Robert Lucius Bright, John Morgan Bright, Anna Mary Bright, Susan Catherine Bright, Judith Margaret Bright, and Samual A.Bright. He next married Zerilda B Buckner and they had four children, Anthoney Buckner Bright, David Mitchel Bright, Becham Bright and Mathew M Bright. His third marriage was to Isabella Buckner.[2]

Career

Upon being admitted to the bar in 1841, Bright began his law practice in Fayetteville. He also served as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1847 and 1848. While in the Legislature he introduced and passed the bill providing for the construction of Tenn., Asylum for the Insane.

During the Civil War, he was Inspector General of Tennessee, with the rank of Brigadier General, and served on the staff of Governor Isham G. Harris from 1861 to 1865.[3]

Elected as a Democrat to the Forty-second for the fourth district of Tennessee, Bright was re-elected to the four succeeding Congresses. The re-districting for the 44th Congress changed his representation to the fifth district. He served from March 4, 1871, to March 3, 1881.[4] His first speech in the U. S. House of Representatives was against the Ku-Klux Bill. He served as chairman of the Committee on Claims (Forty-fourth through Forty-sixth Congresses), Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Treasury (Forty-fourth Congress). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1880 to the Forty-seventh Congress.

After leaving politics, Bright resumed the practice of law in Fayetteville.

Death

Bright died in Fayetteville on October 2, 1911, at the age of 94 years and 256 days. He is interred at the Presbyterian Churchyard, Fayetteville, Tennessee.[5][6]

References

Wikiwand in your browser!

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.

Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.