Stephen Adams (politician)

Stephen Adams ( born October 17, 1807, at Pendleton District, South Carolina; † May 1, 1857 in Memphis, Tennessee ) was an American politician (Democratic Party), who represented the state of Mississippi in both chambers of Congress.

As a boy, Stephen Adams moved in 1812 with his parents to Tennessee, where the family settled in Franklin County. He attended the public schools, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1829. In Tennessee and his political career began with membership of the State Senate 1833-1834.

In 1834 Adams moved to Mississippi and opened an office in Aberdeen. From 1837 to 1845 he served as a judge at the district court, before he was elected for the Democrats in the House of Representatives of the United States, where he remained on 4 March 1845 to 3 March 1847. He then returned in 1848 to the district court back in 1850 was a deputy in the House of Representatives from Mississippi in 1851 and took part in the Constitutional Convention of Mississippi.

After the resignation of Jefferson Davis, the future President of the Confederate States, Stephen Adams was elected as his successor in the U.S. Senate. This he was a member of 17 March 1852 to the March 3, 1857; during this period he was also Chairman of the Committee on Retrenchment. Then he moved to Memphis to work there again as a lawyer, but died shortly after his arrival.