David Meriwether (politician, 1755)

David Meriwether (born April 10, 1755 in Charlottesville , Colony of Virginia , †  November 16, 1822 in Athens , Georgia ) was an American politician . Between 1802 and 1807 he represented the state of Georgia in the US House of Representatives .

Life

David Meriwether was the father of James Meriwether (1789-1854), who represented Georgia in Congress between 1825 and 1827 . He attended public schools in his homeland and served in the Continental Army during the War of Independence . He was also present at the siege of the city of Savannah . In 1785 Meriwether settled in Wilkes County , Georgia. He became a member of the state militia and was brigadier general there until 1797. At the same time he began a political career.

Between 1797 and 1800 he was an MP and President of the Georgia House of Representatives . After the resignation of Congressman Benjamin Taliaferro , Meriwether was elected as the Democratic Republican Party candidate in the due by-election for Georgia’s second mandate to succeed him in the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC . There he took up his new mandate on December 6, 1802. After two re-elections, he could remain in Congress until March 3, 1807 . During this time, the Louisiana Purchase by President Thomas Jefferson fell , which considerably expanded the territory of the United States in the west. In 1804 the 12th amendment to the constitution was passed. In the same year Meriwether was a negotiator in talks with the Creek Indians.

In 1806 Meriwether declined to run again. He retired to his plantation near Athens, where he spent his old age. He died there on November 16, 1822.

According to him Meriwether County named in Georgia.

Web links

• David Meriwether in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• David Meriwether in the database of Find a Grave (English)