William Wirt VAUGHAN, Congress, TN (1831-1878)

VAUGHAN William Wirt , a Representative from Tennessee; born in LaGuardo (now Martha), Wilson County, Tenn., July 2, 1831; attended the common schools and was graduated from Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tenn.; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1860 and commenced practice in Brownsville, Tenn.; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-second Congress (March 4, 1871-March 3, 1873); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1872 to the Forty-third Congress; resumed the practice of law in Brownsville; one of the prime movers in the building of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad branch from Brownsville to Newbern, and was president of the system at the time of his death; became a candidate for election in 1878 to the Forty-sixth Congress, but died in Crockett Mills, near Alamo, Crockett County, Tenn., August 19, 1878, while canvassing the district; interment in Oakwood Cemetery, Brownsville, Tenn.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present