John Henry Lumpkin

Who was John Henry Lumpkin?

John Henry Lumpkin was an American politician, lawyer and jurist.

Lumpkin was born in Lexington, Georgia, and attended Franklin College, the initial college of the University of Georgia in Athens, for some time and then attended Yale College in 1831 and 1832. He then became the personal secretary to his uncle, Wilson Lumpkin, during the elder Lumpkin's gubernatorial term. After studying law, John Henry Lumpkin was admitted to the state bar in 1834, and he began practicing in Rome, Georgia. In 1835, Lumpkin was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in the Georgia General Assembly. In 1838, he served as the solicitor general for Georgia's Cherokee circuit

In 1840, Lumpkin unsuccessfully ran for the United States House of Representatives; however, he ran again in 1842 and won election as a Democrat to the 28th United States Congress. He was elected to two additional terms and served from March 4, 1843, until March 3, 1849. From 1850 through 1853, Lumpkin served as a superior court judge in Georgia's Rome circuit.

Lumpkin was re-elected to the U.S. Congress in 1854 and served from March 4, 1855, until March 3, 1857, but he chose not to run for re-election in 1856.