Henry Wharton Conway

Henry Wharton Conway
Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas Territory
In office March 4, 1823 – November 9, 1827
Preceded by	James W. Bates
Succeeded by	Ambrose H. Sevier
Personal details
Born	(1793-03-18)March 18, 1793 Greeneville, Tennessee, U.S.
Died
Political party	Democratic-Republican
Relations	James Sevier Conway (brother), Elias Nelson Conway (brother), Ambrose Hundley Sevier (cousin), Henry Massey Rector (cousin), James Lawson Kemper (third cousin)
Profession	Ensign/lieutenant, United States Navy, 1812–1813 Clerk, U.S. Treasury, 1817–1818 Receiver of Public Moneys, Arkansas Territory, 1920–1921 Delegate, United States Congress, 1823–1827
Military service
Service/branch	Navy
Years of service	1812–1813
Rank	Lieutenant

Henry Wharton Conway (March 18, 1793 – November 9, 1827) was a United States naval officer during the War of 1812 and a politician in Arkansas Territory, who was elected as a territorial delegate (1823–1827) to the United States House of Representatives for three consecutive congresses. He died in 1827 as a result of wounds from a duel with Robert Crittenden, a former friend and political ally.

Biography

Conway was born into a planter family on March 18, 1793, as the son of Thomas and Ann Rector Conway, near Greeneville, Tennessee in Greene County, Tennessee. He was educated by private tutors. He had two younger brothers who followed him into politics in the West.

Career

During the War of 1812, Conway was commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Navy, and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1813.

In 1817, Conway became a clerk in the U.S. Treasury. Having saved money for his journey, the following year he joined the migration West to the Missouri Territory. In 1820, he moved to the Arkansas Territory. There he became active in territorial politics, forming a friendship and an alliance with Robert Crittenden. His younger brothers James Sevier Conway and Elias Nelson Conway also later became politicians in Arkansas after it became a state in 1836; they served as first and fifth governors of the state, respectively. In Arkansas, he was appointed as receiver of public moneys, serving from 1820 through 1821.

Conway was elected in 1822 as a territorial delegate to the Eighteenth Congress and was re-elected to the Nineteenth, and Twentieth Congresses, serving in total from March 4, 1823 until his death.

Following political differences in 1825, Conway and Crittenden grew apart, publicizing their feud in newspapers. Their conflict resulted in a duel held on October 29, 1827, near Napoleon, Arkansas. Conway was mortally wounded by Crittenden and died several days later. on November 9, 1827.

Death and legacy

Conway died on November 9, 1827 (age 34 years, 236 days), and is interred at Scull Cemetery, Arkansas Post, Arkansas.

• Conway County, Arkansas is named for him.

See also

• The Family (Arkansas politics)

External links

• Henry Wharton Conway at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on 2008-03-31
• Henry Wharton Conway, Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry
• Conway-Crittenden Duel, Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by James Woodson Bates	Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas Territory March 4, 1823 – November 9, 1827	Succeeded by Ambrose Hundley Sevier