Pryor Lea (August 31, 1794-September 14, 1879) was a two-term U.S. Representative from Tennessee. Lea was born in Knox County, Tennessee. He studied at the former Greenville College (now Tusculum College) and then studied law, being admitted to the bar in 1817 and practicing in Knoxville. He had previously served in the Creek War of 1813. He was appointed United States Attorney for Tennessee in 1824.
Lea was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1826 as a supporter of Andrew Jackson and re-elected in 1828, serving in the 20th and 21st Congresses from March 4, 1827 to March 3, 1831. He was defeated for a third term in 1830.
Lea moved to Jackson, Mississippi, in 1836 and to Goliad, Texas, in 1846, where he was involved in the railroad business. He was elected to the Secession Convention which met in Austin in January 1861 which voted for secession, leading to eventual Texas membership in the Confederacy.
Lea was elected to the Texas Senate in 1861, and after the Civil War was selected for the 1875 Constitutional Convention, but declined due to his “extreme age.”
Lea died on September 14, 1879 in Goliad and was buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery.
Pryor Lea was the brother of Luke Lea, also a two-term Congressman from Tennessee.
This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
