Thomas W. Cobb

{{Short description|American politician (1784–1830)}}

{{About|the United States Representative and Senator from Georgia|the American Civil War General|Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb}}

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Thomas Willis Cobb

|jr/sr1 = United States Senator

|state1 = Georgia

|term_start1 = December 6, 1824

|term_end1 = November 7, 1828

|predecessor1 = Nicholas Ware

|successor1 = Oliver H. Prince

|state2 = Georgia

|district2 = at-large

|term_start2 = March 4, 1817

|term_end2 = March 3, 1821

|preceded2 = Wilson Lumpkin

|succeeded2 = Alfred Cuthbert

|term_start3 = March 4, 1823

|term_end3 = December 6, 1824

|preceded3 = New seat

|succeeded3 = Richard H. Wilde

|birth_date = 1784

|birth_place = Columbia County, Georgia

|death_date = February 1, {{death year and age|1830|1784}}

|death_place = Greensboro, Georgia

|party = Democratic-Republican

}}

Thomas Willis Cobb (1784{{spaced ndash}}February 1, 1830) was an American politician who served as a United States representative and Senator from Georgia.

Biography

Born in Columbia County, Georgia, he pursued preparatory studies, and studied law. He was admitted to the bar and practiced in Lexington, Georgia. He moved to Greensboro and was elected as a Representative to the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1817, to March 3, 1821. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Seventeenth Congress, but was elected to the Eighteenth Congress and served from March 4, 1823, to December 6, 1824, when he resigned, having been elected to the U.S. Senate; while a Representative during the Eighteenth Congress, he was chairman of the Committee on Public Expenditures. He was elected to the Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Nicholas Ware and served from December 6, 1824, until his resignation in 1828. The press announced that he would "probably resign" in August 1828,{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/richmond-enquirer/126134235/|title=We regret to learn|work=Richmond Enquirer|date=August 29, 1828|page=3}} and his successor, Oliver H. Prince, took office in November 1828.{{cite web|url=https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/P000539|title=Prince, Oliver Hillhouse|work=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}} Cobb was a judge of the superior court of Georgia, and died in Greensboro in 1830. Cobb County, Georgia is named in his honor and its county seat, Marietta, is named for his wife Mary.{{cite book | url=http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/m.pdf| title=Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins | publisher=Winship Press | author=Krakow, Kenneth K. | year=1975 | location=Macon, GA | pages=143 | isbn=0-915430-00-2}} He was a slaveowner and the cousin of Confederate Generals Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb and Howell Cobb.{{Citation |title=Congress slaveowners |date=2022-02-14 |url=https://github.com/washingtonpost/data-congress-slaveowners/blob/776c625f524a10cc2abfe0bb6de8f39de80de522/data/congress_slaveowners.csv |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=2022-03-06}}

References

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