Ambrose Hundley Sevier

Ambrose Hundley Sevier
United States Senator from Arkansas
In office September 18, 1836 – March 15, 1848
Preceded by	(none)
Succeeded by	Solon Borland
Personal details
Born	November 4, 1801(1801-11-04) Greeneville, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	December 31, 1848(1848-12-31) (aged 47) Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Juliette Johnson Sevier
Profession	Politician, Lawyer

Ambrose Hundley Sevier (November 4, 1801 – December 31, 1848) was a Democratic member of the United States Senate from Arkansas.

Ambrose Hundley Sevier was born near Greeneville, Tennessee in Greene County, Tennessee. Sevier moved to Missouri in 1820 and to Little Rock, Arkansas in 1821.

In Arkansas he became clerk of the Territorial House of Representatives. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1823. Sevier became a member of the House of Representatives and served from 1823 to 1827 and served as speaker of that body in 1827.

Sevier was elected as a Delegate to the Twentieth US Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Henry Wharton Conway. Sevier was reelected and served as delegate in three successive congresses from 1828 to 1836 when Arkansas was admitted to the Union. Sevier is known as the "Father of Arkansas Statehood".

In 1836 Sevier was elected as the first member of the United States Senate from Arkansas. He was reelected in 1837 and 1843. He resigned from office in 1848. During the twenty-ninth Congress he was allowed to hold the seat of President pro tem of the Senate for a day, though he was not actually elected to that post. During his tenure he served as chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs and was a member of the Committee on Foreign Relations.

In 1848 Sevier and Nathan Clifford, the Attorney General of the United States, were appointed ambassadors to Mexico by President James K. Polk to negotiate the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo at the end of the Mexican-American War.

Ambrose Hundley Sevier died on his plantation in Pulaski County, Arkansas. He was buried in the historic Mount Holly Cemetery. The State of Arkansas erected a monument in the cemetery in his honor.

Sevier was the grandnephew of John Sevier, first cousin of Representative Henry Wharton Conway, Governor James Sevier Conway, Governor Elias Nelson Conway, brother-in-law of Senator Robert Ward Johnson and father-in-law of Governor Thomas James Churchill.

Sevier County, Arkansas is named in his honor.

External links

• Ambrose Hundley Sevier at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Henry Wharton Conway	Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas Territory February 13, 1828 – June 15, 1836	Arkansas admitted to the Union
United States Senate
Preceded by (none)	United States Senator (Class 3) from Arkansas September 18, 1836 – March 15, 1848 Served alongside: William Savin Fulton and Chester Ashley	Succeeded by Solon Borland
Political offices
Preceded by Hugh Lawson White	Chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee 1840–1841	Succeeded by James T. Morehead
Preceded by Albert White	Chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee 1845 – 1846	Succeeded by Arthur P. Bagby
Preceded by William Allen	Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 1846 – 1848	Succeeded by Edward A. Hannegan
Preceded by Willie Person Mangum	President pro tempore of the United States Senate December 27, 1845(1)	Succeeded by David Rice Atchison
Notes and references
1. Sevier was not actually elected President pro tempore of the Senate, but was allowed to 'hold the seat' for a day.