John Randolph NEAL, Congress, TN (1836-1889)

NEAL, John Randolph, a Representative from Tennessee; born near Clinton, Anderson County, Tenn., November 26, 1836; attended the common schools and Hiwassee College, Monroe County, Tenn.; was graduated from Emory and Henry College, Emory, Va., in 1858; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1859 and commenced practice in Athens, Tenn.; during the Civil War enlisted in the Confederate Army and was elected captain of a Cavalry troop, which afterward became a part of the Sixteenth Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry, and was subsequently promoted to lieutenant colonel of the battalion; taught school for several years; settled at Rhea Springs, Tenn., and continued the practice of law; member of the State house of representatives in 1874; served in the State senate in 1878 and 1879 and as presiding officer in 1879; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-ninth and Fiftieth Congresses (March 4, 1885-March 3, 1889); declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1888 on account of ill health; died at Rhea Springs, Rhea County, Tenn., March 26, 1889; interment in the W.F. Brown family cemetery, Post Oak Springs, Tenn.

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