Thomas Hamlet Averett (July 10, 1800 – June 30, 1855) was a slave owner[1][2] and U.S. Representative from Virginia.

Thomas H. Averett
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 3rd district
In office
March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1853
Preceded byThomas Flournoy
Succeeded byJohn Caskie
Member of the Virginia Senate for Mecklenburg and Halifax
In office
December 4, 1848 – March 1849
Preceded byRichard H. Baptist
Succeeded byTucker Carrington
Personal details
Born
Thomas Hamlet Averett

(1800-07-10)July 10, 1800
Halifax County, Virginia
DiedJune 30, 1855(1855-06-30) (aged 54)
Halifax County, Virginia
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materJefferson Medical College
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
RankServed as drummer boy
Battles/warsWar of 1812

Biography

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Born near Halifax, Virginia, Averett attended the common schools. He served as a drummer boy in the War of 1812.

He studied medicine. He was graduated from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and practiced in Halifax and the adjacent counties.

He served in the State senate in 1848 and 1849. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1846 to the Thirtieth Congress.

Averett was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-first and Thirty-second Congresses (March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1853). During that time, he was responsible for future Confederate cavalry general J.E.B. Stuart's appointment to attend West Point.[3]

He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1852. He resumed the practice of medicine in Halifax County. He died near Halifax Court House, Virginia, June 30, 1855. He was interred in the family burial ground near Halifax Court House.

Elections

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  • 1849; Averett was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 50.75% of the vote, defeating Whig Thomas Stanhope Flournoy.
  • 1851; Averett was re-elected with 57.38% of the vote, defeating Whig Flournoy.

References

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  1. ^ "Congress slaveowners", The Washington Post, 2022-01-19, retrieved 2022-01-23
  2. ^ Appeals, Virginia Supreme Court of (1844). Cases Decided in the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia. T. Nicholson.
  3. ^ Ball, Durwood (2001). Army regulars on the western frontier, 1848-1861. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 78. ISBN 0-8061-3312-0. OCLC 45080088.

Sources

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  This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 3rd congressional district

1849–1853
Succeeded by