EATON, John Henry (1790-1856)
Senate Years of Service: 1818-1821; 1821-1829
EATON, JOHN HENRY, a Senator from Tennessee; born near Scotland Neck, Halifax County, N.C., June 18, 1790; attended the common schools and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1803 and 1804; studied law; admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Franklin, Tenn.; member, State house of representatives 1815-1816; appointed in 1818 and subsequently elected as a Democratic Republican to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of George W. Campbell and served from September 5, 1818, to March 3, 1821; elected as a Jackson Republican to the Senate in September 1821, and as a Jacksonian in 1826 and served from September 27, 1821, until March 9, 1829, when he resigned to accept a Cabinet position; chairman, Committee on District of Columbia (Twentieth Congress); appointed Secretary of War by President Andrew Jackson and served from 1829 to 1831, when he resigned; Governor, Territory of Florida 1834-1836; Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain 1836-1840; died in Washington, D.C., November 17, 1856; interment in Oak Hill Cemetery.
Boston Public Library
Boston, MA
Papers: 4 items.
Filson Club Historical Society
Louisville, KY
Papers: 1826, 1828. 2 letters.
Georgia Historical Society
Savannah, GA
Papers: Correspondence in John MacPherson Berrien papers, 1779-1942. In part, photocopies of originals in University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Finding aid.
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Papers: In Daniel Parker papers, 1800-1846.
Johns Hopkins University
Milton S. Eisenhower Library
Baltimore, MD
Papers: In Edward M. Greenway collection, 1737-1876.
Library of Congress
Manuscript Division
Washington, DC
Papers: 9 items (1821-1840); correspondence in Polk family papers, 1767-1859; and Henry Mason Morfit papers, 1819-1859.
Rosenbach Museum and Library
Philadelphia, PA
Papers: Discussed in a letter from Andrew Jackson (November 16, 1823) to his wife, Rachel.
Tennessee Historical Society
Nashville, TN
Papers: Miscellaneous letters in various collections.
Tennessee State Library and Archives
Nashville, TN
Papers: Letters and biographical sketches in various collections and a portrait.
University of Oklahoma
Carl Albert Center Congressional Archives
Norman, OK
Papers: In Peter Perkins Pitchlynn papers, 1815-1888.
Yale University Libraries
Manuscripts and Archives
New Haven, CT
Papers: In John McLean papers, 1817-1861, on 18 microfilm reels. Originals in Library of Congress.
- Eaton, Margaret O'Neale. The Autobiography of Peggy Eaton. 1932. Reprint. New York: Arno Press, 1980.
- Hay, Robert P. "The Case for Andrew Jackson in 1824: Eaton's `Wyoming Letters'.'' Tennessee Historical Quarterly 29 (Summer 1970): 139-51.
- Latner, Richard B. "The Eaton Affair Reconsidered.'' Tennessee Historical Quarterly 36 (Fall 1977): 330-51.
- Lowe, Gabriel L., Jr. "John H. Eaton, Jackson's Campaign Manager.'' Tennessee Historical Quarterly 11 (June 1952): 99-147.
- McKellar, Kenneth. "John H. Eaton," in Tennessee Senators as Seen by One of their Successors. Kingsport, Tenn.: Southern Publishers, Inc., 1942, 147-158.
- Ratner, Lorman A. "John Henry Eaton: A Lost Man." In Andrew Jackson and His Tennessee Lieutenants: A Study in Political Culture, pp. 83-90. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997.
- Reid, John, and John Henry Eaton. The Life of Andrew Jackson. 1817. Reprint. Edited, with introduction, by Frank Lawrence Owsley, Jr. University, AL: University of Alabama Press, 1974.
