# John Netherland

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/John_Netherland
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/John_Netherland.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Netherland
> Source revision: 1349677206
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|American attorney and politician (1808 – 1887)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name          = John Netherland
| image         = Netherland-john-by-samuel-shaver.jpg
| caption       = Portrait of Netherland by Samuel Shaver (1846)
| office        = Member of the [Tennessee Senate](/source/Tennessee_Senate)<br/> from the [1st](/source/Tennessee's_1st_Senate_district) district
| term_start    = 1833
| term_end      = 1835
| predecessor   = [Abraham McClellan](/source/Abraham_McClellan_(Tennessee_politician))
| successor     = Joseph Powell<ref>Diane Black, "[http://www.tennessee.gov/tsla/history/misc/tga-senate3.pdf Tennessee Senators]," Tennessee State Library and Archives, 2010, pp. 10-12. Retrieved: 26 April 2013.</ref>
| office1       = Member of the [Tennessee House of Representatives](/source/Tennessee_House_of_Representatives)<br/> from [Sullivan County](/source/Sullivan_County%2C_Tennessee)
| term_start1   = 1835
| term_end1     = 1836
| predecessor1  = George R. Powell
| successor1    = Elkanah Dulaney<ref name=bluebook>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=2NEGAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA209 Tennessee Blue Book]'', pp. 14, 170, 211, 221. Retrieved: 26 April 2013.</ref>
| office2       = Member of the [Tennessee House of Representatives](/source/Tennessee_House_of_Representatives)<br/> from [Hawkins County](/source/Hawkins_County%2C_Tennessee)
| term_start2   = 1851
| term_end2     = 1853
| predecessor2  = Samuel Powell
| successor2    = James White<ref name=bluebook />
| birth_name    =
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1808|09|20|mf=y}}
| birth_place   = [Powhatan County, Virginia](/source/Powhatan_County%2C_Virginia), United States
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1887|10|04|1808|09|20}}
| death_place   = [Rogersville, Tennessee](/source/Rogersville%2C_Tennessee)
| resting_place = McKinney Cemetery<br/> Rogersville, Tennessee
| party         = [Whig](/source/Whig_Party_(United_States))
| profession    = Attorney
| spouse        = Susan McKinney (m. 1839)
| children      = 
| alma_mater    =  
}}
'''John Netherland''' (September 20, 1808 &ndash; October 4, 1887) was an American attorney and politician, active primarily in mid-19th century [Tennessee](/source/Tennessee).  A leader of the state's [Whigs](/source/Whig_Party_(United_States)), he served in both the [Tennessee Senate](/source/Tennessee_Senate) and [Tennessee House of Representatives](/source/Tennessee_House_of_Representatives), and was an unsuccessful candidate for governor on the [Opposition](/source/Opposition_Party_(Southern_U.S.)) ticket in 1859.  During the Civil War, he supported the [Union](/source/Union_(American_Civil_War)), and was a delegate to the 1861 [East Tennessee Convention](/source/East_Tennessee_Convention).

==Early life and political career==

Netherland was born in [Powhatan County, Virginia](/source/Powhatan_County%2C_Virginia), one of eleven children of Richard and Margaret (Woods) Netherland.  While John was still an infant, the family moved to [Kingsport, Tennessee](/source/Kingsport%2C_Tennessee), where his parents established a stagecoach stop known as the [Netherland Inn](/source/Netherland_Inn_and_Complex).  Young John was educated at [Tusculum Academy](/source/Tusculum_College) under famed frontier preacher [Samuel Doak](/source/Samuel_Doak), and [read law](/source/Reading_law) with Judge [Samuel Powell](/source/Samuel_Powell_(Tennessee_politician)).<ref name=notable>[Oliver Perry Temple](/source/Oliver_Perry_Temple), [https://books.google.com/books?id=Yw8UAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22john+netherland%22+tennessee&pg=PA159 John Netherland], ''Notable Men of Tennessee]'' (Cosmopolitan Press, 1912), pp. 159-165.</ref>  He was [admitted to the bar](/source/Admission_to_the_bar_in_the_United_States) in 1829, and briefly moved to [Franklin, Tennessee](/source/Franklin%2C_Tennessee), before returning to Kingsport upon the death of his father.<ref name=speer>William S. Speer, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=UsVGPmfzJRYC&dq=%22john+netherland%22+rogersville+kingsport&pg=PA62 Sketches of Prominent Tennesseans]'' (Genealogical Publishing Company, 2010; originally published in 1888), pp. 62-64.</ref>

Netherland was elected to the 1st district's seat in the state senate in 1833, when he was just 25 years old.  As a state senator, he opposed the [Indian removal](/source/Indian_Removal_Act) policies of [Andrew Jackson](/source/Andrew_Jackson) and state [Democrats](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)).<ref name=speer />  In 1834, a state constitutional convention rewrote Tennessee's 1796 constitution.  The new constitution placed the minimum age for state senators at 30, so he was unable to seek a second term.<ref name=speer/>  He did, however, win election to [Sullivan County's](/source/Sullivan_County%2C_Tennessee) seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives.<ref name=notable/>

Netherland aligned himself with the burgeoning Whig Party, which generally opposed the policies of the Jackson administration.  In 1836, he was an [elector](/source/Electoral_College_(United_States)) for Whig presidential candidate and fellow East Tennessean [Hugh Lawson White](/source/Hugh_Lawson_White).<ref name=notable />  During his term in the state house, he opposed a bill that instructed the state's U.S. senators to vote for a measure reversing a censure of Jackson.<ref name=speer />  This angered Sullivan Countians, and Netherland was subsequently forced to resign.<ref name=taylor>Oliver Taylor, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=8fITAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22john+netherland%22+tennessee+sullivan&pg=PA292 Historic Sullivan: A History of Sullivan County, Tennessee]'' (King Printing Company, 1909), pp. 291-295.</ref>

In 1837, Netherland moved to [Rogersville, Tennessee](/source/Rogersville%2C_Tennessee), in nearby [Hawkins County](/source/Hawkins_County%2C_Tennessee), where he would live for the rest of his life.<ref name=speer />  In 1839, he married Susan McKinney, the daughter of powerful Rogersville attorney John A. McKinney.  As a wedding present, McKinney built a house for the young couple, Rosemont, which still stands in downtown Rogersville.<ref>[http://www.rogersvillemainstreet.com/walking-tour/rogersville-tn Rogersville Walking Tour] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140315231738/http://www.rogersvillemainstreet.com/walking-tour/rogersville-tn |date=2014-03-15 }}, Rogersville Main Street Program, 2010.  Retrieved: 25 April 2013.</ref>

While Netherland focused primarily on his law practice during the 1840s, he remained politically active. He ran unsuccessfully for the state legislature in 1841, losing by a narrow margin.<ref name=speer />  In 1846, Netherland successfully defended a group of [Melungeons](/source/Melungeons) who had been charged with illegally voting (colored people had been barred from voting by 1834 state constitution).<ref>Tim Hashaw, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=88XKOocy4vIC&dq=%22john+netherland%22+melungeons&pg=PA13 Children of Perdition: Melungeons and the Struggle of Mixed America]'' (Mercer University Press, 2007), p. 13.</ref><ref>Bonnie Sage Ball, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=7Y8KuzYGuDEC&dq=%22john+netherland%22+melungeons&pg=PA65 The Melungeons: Notes on the Origin of a Race]'' (Overmountain Press, 1992), p. 65.</ref>  In 1847, he was among the candidates considered by the state legislature to replace [Spencer Jarnagin](/source/Spencer_Jarnagin) in the United States Senate, but the seat went to [John Bell](/source/John_Bell_(Tennessee_politician)).<ref name=notable />  Netherland was an [at-large](/source/at-large) elector for [Zachary Taylor](/source/Zachary_Taylor) in 1848, canvassing the state and debating Memphis judge William T. Brown and former governor [Aaron V. Brown](/source/Aaron_V._Brown).<ref name=speer />

In 1851, Netherland was elected to the Hawkins County seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives.<ref name=speer />  The following year, he supported [Winfield Scott](/source/Winfield_Scott) for president.  In October 1852, Netherland was badly injured in a wagon accident while travelling to [Calhoun, Tennessee](/source/Calhoun%2C_Tennessee), with [Gustavus Henry](/source/Gustavus_Adolphus_Henry_Sr.) and [Charles McClung McGhee](/source/Charles_McClung_McGhee) to stump for Scott.<ref>William MacArthur, Jr., "The Early Career of Charles McClung McGhee," [East Tennessee Historical Society](/source/East_Tennessee_Historical_Society) ''Publications'', Vol. 45 (1973), pp. 6-7.</ref>

==1859 gubernatorial campaign==

As the secession crisis arose in the late 1850s, Netherland, like many East Tennesseans,  remained steadfastly loyal to the Union.  To challenge pro-secession Southern Democrats, pro-Union leaders formed the [Opposition Party](/source/Opposition_Party_(Southern_U.S.)), which supported slavery but rejected secession.  In 1859, this party nominated Netherland to run for governor against the pro-secession incumbent, [Isham G. Harris](/source/Isham_G._Harris).<ref name=notable />

During the summer of 1859, Harris and Netherland engaged in a series of debates at campaign stops across the state.  In spite of the growing sectional crisis, the key issue at most campaign stops was the Bank of Tennessee, which had become controversial following a series of bank failures in 1857.  Harris, who had been bickering with the bank's president, [Cave Johnson](/source/Cave_Johnson), opposed the bank.  Netherland, arguing the bank provided money for the state's education fund, supported it.  The issue of slavery occasionally came up, with Harris attempting to tie Netherland to the abolitionist motives of northern Republicans, and Netherland accusing Harris of sensationalizing the issue.<ref name=elliott>Sam Davis Elliott, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=37JnYA3tf7IC&q=elliott+isham+harris Isham G. Harris of Tennessee: Confederate Governor and United States Senator]'' (LSU Press, 2010), pp. 48-49.</ref>

Historian [Oliver Perry Temple](/source/Oliver_Perry_Temple), a fellow Whig and friend of Netherland, suggested that Netherland lacked intellectual curiosity and was not very well-read, and instead relied on his "exceptionally superior" common sense and "irresistible humor" when campaigning.<ref name=notable />  Temple argued this trait hurt Netherland in the governor's race, as Harris came to every debate having studiously prepared to discuss every issue, and occasionally caught Netherland off guard.<ref name=notable />  Recalling respective speeches the candidates gave at the [Tennessee State Capitol](/source/Tennessee_State_Capitol) in May, [Randal McGavock](/source/Randal_William_McGavock), a friend of Harris, described Harris's speech as "able and dignified," while Netherland's speech was "filled with anecdotes and humorous sayings, but not very sound."<ref name=elliott />

On election day, Harris defeated Netherland, winning 76,073 votes to Netherland's 68,042.<ref name=bluebook />  With substantially higher voter turnout, Harris's margin of victory was 3,000 votes less than his victory over [Robert H. Hatton](/source/Robert_H._Hatton) in the 1857 governor's race.<ref name=elliott />  Democrats narrowly retained control of the state government, though the Opposition Party won seven of the state's ten congressional seats.<ref name=elliott />

==Civil War==

As Southern states considered secession following the election of [Abraham Lincoln](/source/Abraham_Lincoln) in late 1860 and early 1861, Netherland, along with Temple, [William G. Brownlow](/source/William_Gannaway_Brownlow), [Horace Maynard](/source/Horace_Maynard), [T. A. R. Nelson](/source/Thomas_Amos_Rogers_Nelson) and [Thomas D. Arnold](/source/Thomas_Dickens_Arnold), canvassed relentlessly to rally support for the Union.  In February 1861, Netherland was Hawkins' pro-Union candidate for the proposed state convention to consider secession.  While Tennessee voters rejected holding the convention, sentiments shifted in favor of secession following the [Battle of Fort Sumter](/source/Battle_of_Fort_Sumter) in April. A majority of East Tennesseans, however, remained pro-Union.<ref name=etcw>Oliver Perry Temple, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=g8xYAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22john+netherland%22+east+tennessee+and+the+civil+war&pg=PA570 East Tennessee and the Civil War]'' (Johnson City, Tenn.: Overmountain Press, 1995), pp. 171, 353-355.</ref>

Netherland was a member of the Hawkins County delegation at the [Greeneville](/source/Greeneville%2C_Tennessee) session (June 17&ndash;20, 1861) of the [East Tennessee Convention](/source/East_Tennessee_Convention), which met a few days after the state voted to secede.  Along with Temple and James McDowell, he was appointed to the committee that drafted a petition to the state legislature asking that East Tennessee be allowed to break away and form a separate, Union-aligned state.  Netherland opposed a motion calling for the use of force if the legislature refused, and repeatedly stressed caution.  "Our deliberations and acts will become historic," he said.  "We should act calmly.  We are in a revolution and a fearful one."<ref name=etcw />  Though the threat of force was removed from the final petition, the state legislature nevertheless rejected the convention's request, and Confederate forces occupied East Tennessee shortly afterward.

Netherland was not active during the war.  His in-laws, the McKinneys, generally supported the Union, while many of his blood relatives supported the Confederacy ([Sullivan County](/source/Sullivan_County%2C_Tennessee), where many of the Netherlands lived, was one of the few East Tennessee counties to vote in favor of secession).<ref>Marie Day and W. Calvin Dickenson, "The Netherland Inn," East Tennessee Historical Society ''Publications'', Vol. 60 (1980), p. 76.</ref>  Netherland's son-in-law, Carrick Heiskell, served in the Confederate Army.<ref name=eahc /> In 1864, Netherland supported the Democratic presidential candidate, [George B. McClellan](/source/George_B._McClellan), in his failed race against Lincoln.<ref name=notable />

==Later life==

After the war, Netherland was appointed [Minister to Bolivia](/source/United_States_Ambassador_to_Bolivia) by President [Andrew Johnson](/source/Andrew_Johnson), but he declined the appointment.<ref>[https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/netherland-john John Netherland], U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.  Retrieved: 26 April 2013.</ref>  Netherland was a delegate to the 1870 state constitutional convention, which created the present Tennessee state constitution.<ref name=speer />  By the 1880s, his health had declined, forcing him to give up the practice of law.<ref name=speer />

Netherland died on October 4, 1887.  When he died, he is said to have uttered, "old John's gone, and young John's gone, and Sarah's gone, and Molly's gone," referring to his son, wife, and daughter, who all preceded him in death.<ref name=taylor />  He was buried at the McKinney Cemetery in Rogersville.

[John Netherland Heiskell](/source/John_N._Heiskell), a grandson of Netherland, briefly represented [Arkansas](/source/Arkansas) in the [United States Senate](/source/United_States_Senate) in 1913.<ref name=eahc>Nathania Sawyer and John Thompson, "[http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=1670 John Netherland Heiskell]," ''Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture'', 2012.  Retrieved: 26 April 2013.</ref><ref>Marvin Byrd, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=OsTWOnin6OMC&dq=%22john+netherland%22+heiskell+byrd&pg=PA137 A Unionist in East Tennessee: Captain William K. Byrd and the Mysterious Raid of 1861]'' (The History Press, 2011), p. 137.</ref>

==See also==

*[Frederick Heiskell](/source/Frederick_Heiskell)
*[William Heiskell](/source/William_Heiskell)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Netherland, John}}
Category:1808 births
Category:1887 deaths
Category:People from Powhatan County, Virginia
Category:People from Kingsport, Tennessee
Category:People of Tennessee in the American Civil War
Category:Tennessee state senators
Category:Members of the Tennessee House of Representatives
Category:Tennessee Whigs
Category:Tennessee Oppositionists
Category:Southern Unionists in the American Civil War
Category:American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law
Category:19th-century members of the Tennessee General Assembly

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [John Netherland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Netherland) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Netherland?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.