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Senate Years of Service: 1838-1839; 1843-1845 Party: Whig; Whig
FOSTER, Ephraim Hubbard, a Senator from Tennessee; born near Bardstown, Nelson County, Ky., September
17, 1794; moved to Tennessee with his parents, who settled near Nashville, Davidson County, in
1797; completed preparatory studies and graduated from Cumberland College (later the University of
Nashville) in 1813; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1820 and commenced practice in Nashville,
Tenn.; served in the Creek War and was private secretary to Gen. Andrew Jackson 1813-1815;
member, State house of representatives 1829-1831, 1835-1837, and served as speaker during that
time; appointed as a Whig to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of
Felix Grundy, and served from September 17, 1838, to March 3, 1839; was reelected for the term
beginning March 4, 1839, but resigned, not wishing to obey instructions given him by the State
legislature; chairman, Committee on Claims (Twenty-eighth Congress); elected to the United States
Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of his successor, Felix Grundy, and served from
October 17, 1843, to March 3, 1845; unsuccessful Whig candidate for Governor in 1845; resumed
the practice of law; died in Nashville, Tenn., September 6, 1854; interment in the City Cemetery.
BibliographyDictionary of American Biography;
Moore, Powell. James K. Polk and the Immortal Thirteen. East Tennessee Historical
Society's Publications 11 (1939) 20-33.
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