Henry R. Gibson

For other people named Henry Gibson, seeHenry Gibson.

Henry Richard Gibson
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTennessee's2nddistrict
In office March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1905
Preceded by	John Chiles Houk
Succeeded by	Nathan W. Hale
Member of theTennessee House of Representatives
In office 1875–1877
Member of theTennessee Senate
In office 1871–1873
Personal details
Born	December 24, 1837(1837-12-24) Kent Island, Maryland,US
Died	May 25, 1938(1938-05-26)(aged 100) Washington, D.C.,US
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Frances (Reed) Gibson (m. 1863–1919, her death) Lizzie (Beckerdite) Clark (m. 1920)
Relations	Charles Hopper Gibson(cousin)
Children	2
Alma mater	Hobart College Albany Law School
Profession	Attorney,newspaper editor, author

Henry Richard Gibson(December 24, 1837 – May 25, 1938) was an American attorney and politician who representedTennessee's 2nd districtin theU.S. House of Representativesfrom 1895 to 1905. He also served as a state chancery court judge, and was a delegate to Tennessee's 1870 constitutional convention. Outside politics he wrote and edited several books on federal and state law.

Early life

Gibson was born onKent Island,Maryland,inQueen Anne's County,son of Woolman and Catherine (Carter) Gibson.He attended the common schools at Kent Island and atBladensburg, Maryland.He graduated from Decker's Academy at Bladensburg in 1858 and fromHobart CollegeatGeneva, New York,in 1862.

Gibson served in the commissary department of theUnion Armyfrom March 1863 to July 1865. He enteredAlbany Law SchoolinNew Yorkin September 1865. He was admitted to the bar in December 1865 and commenced practice inKnoxville, Tennessee,in January 1866. He moved toJacksboro, Tennessee,inCampbell Countyin October 1866, and was appointed commissioner of claims by GovernorWilliam G. Brownlowin 1868.He eventually formed a law partnership withLeonidas C. Houk.

In 1870, Gibson representedAndersonandCampbellcounties at the state convention which created the presentTennessee State Constitution.He served on the convention's legislative committee.At the convention, he proposed a resolution calling on the state to ratify the15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,but the resolution failed (Tennessee wouldn't ratify the amendment until 1997).He also presented a memorial calling for the creation ofLoudon County.

Gibson was a member of theTennessee Senatefrom 1871 to 1873, representing the fourth district (Claiborne,Grainger,Anderson and Campbell).He was a member of theTennessee House of Representativesfrom 1875 to 1877, representingUnion,Campbell andScottcounties.

Gibson returned to Knoxville in 1876, and founded theKnoxville Republican,a campaign newspaper, three years later. In 1882, he and a group of investors purchased theKnoxville Daily ChroniclefromWilliam Rule,and merged it with theRepublicanunder the new name,Knoxville Republican-Chronicle(Rule would re-purchase this paper within a few years, however).Gibson served as a United States pension agent at Knoxville from June 22, 1883, until June 9, 1885. From 1886 to 1894, he waschancellorof the second chancery division of Tennessee. In 1891, he published a legal text,Gibson’s Suits in Chancery.Gibson worked as a professor ofmedical jurisprudenceat the Tennessee Medical College from 1889 to 1906.

Congress

Gibson's law partner, Leonidas Houk, was elected to the2nd district seatin the U.S. House of Representatives in 1878, and served throughout the 1880s. During this period, Houk developed apolitical machinethat largely controlled the state Republican Party, and established Republican dominance in the1stand 2nd districts. Gibson, who remained a close confidant of Houk, was influential within the Houk machine, and was considered by many Houk's rightful successor following the congressman's sudden death in 1891. He lacked the organization to mount a campaign, however, and Houk's son,John Chiles Houk,was elected to the congressional seat.

In 1893, Gibson launched his campaign for the 2nd district seat. The younger Houk's popularity had declined when evidence surfaced that he had helped ensure the defeat of Houk machine rivalHenry Clay Evansin the3rd district.Historian Gordon McKinney described the contest between Gibson and Houk for the Republican nomination as "one of the dirtiest in East Tennessee history."Houk assailed Gibson's war record, and managed to have Gibson expelled from theGrand Army of the Republic(the GAR determined Gibson had been a civilian employee, not a soldier). Gibson accused Houk of frequently missing votes, including a key vote on a veterans' pensions bill, and argued that the silence of politicians like Houk on the tariff issue was to blame for thePanic of 1893.In the March primary, Gibson edged Houk, 14,072 votes to 13,119.Houk refused to drop out, and opposed Gibson as an independent in the general election, but again was defeated, 16,215 votes to 13,191 (the Democrats did not field a candidate).

Gibson supported protectionist measures, such as tariffs on imports, and generally supported prohibition.In January 1896, he introduced a bill that would have provided pensions for survivors of thesteamboatSultanadisaster, though the bill was never passed.He voted for thedeclaration of war with Spainin April 1898.On June 14, 1898, he delivered a speech on the House floor calling for theannexation of Hawaiiand the construction of theNicaragua Canal.

During the intraparty fighting betweenWalter P. Brownlowand Henry Clay Evans for control of the state Republican Party, Gibson aligned himself with Brownlow. In 1902,Nathan W. Hale,who was supported by the Evans faction, challenged Gibson for the 2nd district's Republican nomination, but was defeated in the primary. Gibson did not seek reelection in 1904.

Later life

After his service as United States Representative, Gibson retired from public life and resided inWashington, D.C.He was engaged as a writer, as an author, and as a consulting editor of theAmerican and English Encyclopedia of Law and Practice.In 1907, he published a 368-page epic poem,The Maid of Redenfayn.He published an expanded version of this poem in 1912 under the title,The Ban of Baldurbane.He was an associate reviser in 1918 of theCode of Tennessee,having helped edit the 1896 volume.

Gibson died on May 25, 1938, at the age of 100 in Washington. His remains were cremated and the ashes were spread around his hometown in Maryland, though a monument atOld Gray Cemeteryin Knoxville bears his name.

At the time of his death, he was the last living person known to have been born in 1837, as the last Union generalAaron Daggettdied 11 days prior.

Family

Gibson married Frances Reed on November 12, 1863. They had two daughters. Following her death in 1919, he married Lizzie (Beckerdite) Clark in 1920.

External links

• The Maid of Redenfayn– Archive.org
• The Ban of Baldurbane– Archive.org