Parry Wayne Humphreys

Parry Wayne Humphreys (1778 – February 12, 1839) was an American politician who represented Tennessee in the United States House of Representatives.

Parry Wayne Humphreys
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 6th district
In office March 4, 1813 – March 3, 1815
Preceded by	District created
Succeeded by	James B. Reynolds
Member of the Tennessee Senate
In office 1807
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives
In office 1805
Personal details
Born	1778 Staunton, Virginia
Died	February 12, 1839 (aged 60–61) Hernando, Mississippi
Political party	Democratic-Republican

Biography

Humphreys was born in Staunton, Virginia, but moved with his family to Kentucky in 1789, and later settled in Tennessee. After he finished preparatory studies, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1801.

Career

Humphreys opened his practice in Nashville, Tennessee. He was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1805 and the Tennessee Senate in 1807. He was a Justice of the Supreme Court of Tennessee from 1807 to 1809 and a judge of the State judicial circuit from 1809 to 1813.[1]

Elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Thirteenth Congress, Humphreys served from March 4, 1813 to March 3, 1815.[2] In 1817 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate. He again served as a judge on the State judicial circuit from 1818 to 1836. Humphreys County, Tennessee is named for him.[3]

Humphreys moved to Hernando, Mississippi and engaged in banking there until his death.

Personal life, death and legacy

Humphreys had a son, West Hughes Humphreys, who served as a Confederate judge.[4]

Humphreys died on February 12, 1839, at the age of 61. He was interred at Methodist Cemetery.[5] His granddaughter Annie married John W. Morton, who served as a captain in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War and the founder of the Nashville chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.[6]

References

1. "Parry Wayne Humphreys". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
2. "Parry Wayne Humphreys". Govtrack US Congress. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
3. "Parry Wayne Humphreys". Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
4. Sturgis, Amy H. "West H. Humphreys". The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Tennessee Historical Society and the University of Tennessee Press. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
5. "Parry Wayne Humphreys". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
6. "John W. Morton Passes Away in Shelby". The Tennessean. November 21, 1914. pp. 1–2. Retrieved September 25, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. To Captain Morton came the peculiar distinction of having organized that branch of the Ku Klux Klan which operated in Nashville and the adjacent territory, but a more signal honor was his when he performed the ceremonies which initiated Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest into the mysterious ranks of the Ku Klux Klan.

External links

• United States Congress. "Parry Wayne Humphreys (id: H000962)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society listing on Parry Wayne Humphreys