Philemon THOMAS, Congress, LA (1763-1847)

THOMAS, Philemon, a Representative from Louisiana; born in Orange County, Va., February 9, 1763; attended the common schools; served in the Revolutionary War; moved to Kentucky and settled in Mason County; delegate to the convention which framed the constitution of the State of Kentucky; member of the Kentucky house of representatives 1796-1799; served in the State senate 1800-1803; moved to Louisiana in 1806 and settled on the banks of the lower Mississippi River; member of the Louisiana house of representatives; leader of an uprising against the Spanish authorities, who exercised authority over what is now Mississippi and Louisiana, and commanded the forces which captured the Spanish fort at Baton Rouge in 1810; major general of Louisiana Militia in 1814 and 1815 and served in that capacity in the War of 1812; moved to Baton Rouge, La.; elected to the Twenty-second and Twenty-third Congresses (March 4, 1831-March 3, 1835); died in Baton Rouge, La., November 18, 1847; interment in the Old American Graveyard; reinterment in the National Cemetery at Baton Rouge, La.

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