Henry Wharton Conway

Henry Wharton Conway

Henry Wharton Conway (born March 18, 1793 in Greeneville , Tennessee , † November 9, 1827 in Arkansas Post , Arkansas ) was an American politician . Between 1823 and 1827 he represented the Arkansas Territory as a delegate in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Henry Conway was a member of a well-known family of politicians. His brothers, James and Elias, were governors of Arkansas. His cousin Henry Rector was also the governor of that state; another cousin, Ambrose Hundley Sevier , was a US Senator . Henry Conway enjoyed a private education. During the British-American War of 1812 he was an officer in the US Navy .

Conway did not belong to any political party. In 1817 he was employed by the Treasury Department in Washington, DC . Via the Missouri Territory , he came to the newly established Arkansas Territory in 1820. There he was a tax collector and initially a political ally of Robert Crittenden , who temporarily served as territorial governor. In 1822, Conway was elected as the successor to James Woodson Bates as a delegate in the US House of Representatives. In 1824 and 1826 he was confirmed in this office. Thus he could represent his territory in Congress between March 4, 1823 and his death on November 9, 1827 . Like all congress delegates, he was not entitled to vote there.

At home in Arkansas, there had been a break with his former ally Crittenden. The conflict escalated so much that the two men dueled on October 29, 1827 near Napoleon, Arkansas. Conway was so badly wounded that he succumbed to his injuries on November 9 of this year. But this duel also meant the beginning of his political decline for Crittenden. Conway's delegate mandate went to his cousin Ambrose Sevier.

Web links

• Henry Wharton Conway in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Henry Wharton Conway in the database of Find a Grave (English)