Charles Christopher SHEATS, Congress, AL (1839-1904)

SHEATS Charles Christopher , a Representative from Alabama; born in Walker County, Ala., April 10, 1839; attended the common schools; elected a member of the secession convention in 1860 but refused to sign the ordinance of secession; member of the State house of representatives in 1861 and expelled for his adherence to the Union in 1862; was imprisoned on a charge of treason by the Confederate authorities, but could not obtain a trial, and was not released until after the close of the Civil War; unsuccessful candidate for election in 1864 to the Thirty-ninth Congress; member of the constitutional convention in 1865; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1867 and commenced practice in Decatur; appointed by President Grant consul at Elsinore, Denmark, May 31, 1869, and served until elected to Congress; elected as a Republican to the Forty-third Congress (March 4, 1873-March 3, 1875); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1874 to the Forty-fourth Congress; died in Decatur, Morgan County, Ala., May 27, 1904; interment in McKendree Cemetery, near Decatur.

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