# Walter T. Colquitt > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Walter_T._Colquitt > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Walter_T._Colquitt.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_T._Colquitt > Source revision: 1354055652 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) American politician (1799–1855) This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Walter T. Colquitt" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Walter T. Colquitt United States Senator from Georgia In office March 4, 1843 – February 4, 1848 Preceded by Alfred Cuthbert Succeeded by Herschel V. Johnson Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's at-large district In office March 4, 1839 – July 21, 1840 Preceded by Jabez Y. Jackson Succeeded by Hines Holt In office January 3, 1842 – March 3, 1843 Preceded by Eugenius A. Nisbet Succeeded by John H. Lumpkin Member of the Georgia Senate In office 1834 1837 Personal details Born Walter Terry Colquitt (1799-12-27)December 27, 1799 Halifax County, Virginia, U.S. Died May 7, 1855(1855-05-07) (aged 55) Macon, Georgia, U.S. Resting place Linwood Cemetery Columbus, Georgia, U.S. Party Democratic Spouse Nancy Holt Children Alfred H. and Peyton H. **Walter Terry Colquitt** (December 27, 1799 – May 7, 1855) was a lawyer, [circuit-riding](/source/Circuit_rider_(religious)) [Methodist](/source/Methodist) preacher, slave owner, and politician.[1] Born in Virginia, he later moved with his family to Georgia, where he grew up. He graduated from [Princeton College](/source/Princeton_University), "read the law", and passed the bar.[2] Later he was elected as [United States Representative](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives), and then by the Georgia state legislature as [U.S. Senator](/source/United_States_Senate) from the state. ## Life and career This section needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Born in 1799 in Monroe, [Halifax County, Virginia](/source/Halifax_County%2C_Virginia), Colquitt moved as a child with his parents to [Mount Zion](/source/Mount_Zion%2C_Georgia) in [Carroll County, Georgia](/source/Carroll_County%2C_Georgia). He attended [Princeton College](/source/Princeton_University) and studied law, gaining admission to the [bar](/source/Bar_(association)) in 1820 at the age of 21. He began his law practice that year in [Sparta, Georgia](/source/Sparta%2C_Georgia). Later that year, Colquitt was commissioned as a [brigadier general](/source/Brigadier_General) of the state [militia](/source/Militia), also at the age of 21. Colquitt moved to the village of [Cowpens](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cowpens,_Georgia&action=edit&redlink=1) in [Walton County](/source/Walton_County%2C_Georgia), where he practiced law. He was elected judge of the Chattahoochee circuit in 1826, and was re-elected three years later. He was licensed as a Methodist preacher in 1827, and practiced as a circuit-riding preacher. He became extremely popular in central and south Georgia, mostly for his strong support of [states' rights](/source/States'_rights) at a time when the state tried to deal directly with the Native American tribes who occupied extensive territory there. The state was trying to force them to cede land for the benefit of white settlers, but only the federal government was authorized constitutionally to make treaties with the Native Americans and deal with them officially. Colquitt was said to be able to make a stump speech, try a court case and plead another at the bar, christen a child, preach a sermon, and marry a couple - all before dinner.[3] He was elected as a member of the [Georgia Senate](/source/Georgia_Senate) in 1834 and 1837. In 1838, after [Indian Removal](/source/Indian_Removal) had been underway for several years in Georgia and the Southeast by the federal government, Colquitt was elected as a [Whig](/source/Whig_Party_(United_States)) to the [Twenty-sixth Congress](/source/Twenty-sixth_United_States_Congress), serving from March 4, 1839, to July 21, 1840, when he resigned. He changed parties, affiliating with the Democratic Party.[4] He was elected as a [Van Buren](/source/Martin_Van_Buren) Democrat to the [Twenty-seventh Congress](/source/Twenty-seventh_United_States_Congress). Newly available seats were open in the election, due to the resignations of [Julius C. Alford](/source/Julius_C._Alford), [William Crosby Dawson](/source/William_Crosby_Dawson), and [Eugenius A. Nisbet](/source/Eugenius_Aristides_Nisbet). ## Marriages and family This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Colquitt married Nancy Holt after setting up his law practice. Their children included sons [Alfred Holt Colquitt](/source/Alfred_H._Colquitt) and [Peyton H. Colquitt](/source/Peyton_H._Colquitt) (1831-1863). Following the death of his first wife, Colquitt married widow Alphea B. (Todd) Fauntleroy in 1841. She died that year, and he married Harriet W. Ross the following year, in 1842. ## National office This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) In 1842 the Georgia state legislature elected Colquitt as a [Democrat](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) to the [U.S. Senate](/source/United_States_Senate); he served from March 4, 1843, until his resignation in February 1848. While in the Twenty-ninth Congress, Colquitt was chairman of the Committee on the [District of Columbia](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.) and the Committee on Patents and Patent Office. He supported the [Polk](/source/James_K._Polk) administration in the controversy relative to the [Oregon Territory](/source/Oregon_Territory), and was a prominent opponent of the [Wilmot Proviso](/source/Wilmot_Proviso) throughout the [Mexican–American War](/source/Mexican%E2%80%93American_War). ## Later years This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Colquitt retired from national politics in 1848 to resume his law practice and preaching. He was a member of the [Nashville Convention](/source/Nashville_Convention) in 1850, arguing for [secession](/source/Secession) if [slavery](/source/Slavery) was restricted in any of the new territories then being added to the country. Colquitt died in 1855 during a trip from [Columbus](/source/Columbus%2C_Georgia) to [Macon, Georgia](/source/Macon%2C_Georgia). He was buried in Linwood Cemetery in Columbus, Georgia, where he had been residing. ## Legacy and honors [Colquitt County, Georgia](/source/Colquitt_County%2C_Georgia) is named in memory of Walter T. Colquitt, as was the town of [Colquitt, Georgia](/source/Colquitt%2C_Georgia).[5] His son, [Alfred Holt Colquitt](/source/Alfred_H._Colquitt) (1824-1894), son of his first wife Nancy (Holt Colquitt, also became a politician, being elected as a U.S. Representative and Senator from Georgia. He served as a general in the [Confederate States Army](/source/Confederate_States_Army) during the [American Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War). His second son, [Peyton H. Colquitt](/source/Peyton_H._Colquitt) (1831-1863), also served as a Confederate officer; the colonel was mortally wounded in the [Battle of Chickamauga](/source/Battle_of_Chickamauga) and died two days later. ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Collins-doerrer to Combest"](https://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/collinsworth-combest.html#219.79.36). *politicalgraveyard.com*. Retrieved 2026-01-24. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Mellichamp, Josephine (1976). *Senators from Georgia*. Huntsville, AL: Strode Publishers. pp. 119–21. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0873970829](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0873970829). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Carwardine, Richard (2000). "Methodists, Politics, and the Coming of the American Civil War". *Church History*. **69** (3): 584. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/3169398](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F3169398). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [3169398](https://www.jstor.org/stable/3169398). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [154489893](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:154489893). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Gruberg, Martin (2011). *A Biographical Encyclopedia of American Politicians Who Switched Parties: A History of the Crises That Changed Loyalties*. Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780773411593](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780773411593). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). [*Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins*](http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/c.pdf) (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 49. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-915430-00-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-915430-00-2). - United States Congress. ["Walter T. Colquitt (id: C000648)"](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000648). *[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress](/source/Biographical_Directory_of_the_United_States_Congress)*. U.S. House of Representatives Preceded by Jabez Y. Jackson Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's at-large congressional district March 4, 1839 – July 21, 1840 Succeeded by Hines Holt Preceded by Eugenius A. Nisbet Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's at-large congressional district January 3, 1842 – March 3, 1843 Succeeded by John H. Lumpkin U.S. Senate Preceded by Alfred Cuthbert U.S. senator (Class 3) from Georgia March 4, 1843 – February, 1848 Served alongside: John M. Berrien Succeeded by Herschel V. Johnson v t e United States senators from Georgia Class 2 Few Jackson Walton Tattnall Baldwin Jones Crawford Bulloch Bibb Troup Forsyth Walker Ware Cobb Prince Troup King Lumpkin Berrien Charlton Toombs H. Miller Norwood B. Hill Barrow A. Colquitt Walsh Bacon West Hardwick Harris Cohen Russell Gambrell Nunn Cleland Chambliss Perdue Ossoff Class 3 Gunn Jackson Milledge Tait Elliott Berrien Forsyth Cuthbert W. Colquitt Johnson Dawson Iverson J. Hill Gordon Brown Gordon Clay Terrell Smith Watson Felton George Talmadge Mattingly Fowler Coverdell Z. Miller Isakson Loeffler Warnock Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States People US Congress Other Open Library SNAC Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Walter T. Colquitt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_T._Colquitt) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_T._Colquitt?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.