Biography

He was born in Duplin County, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 on May 5, 1770 and was educated at Grove Academy in Kenansville

Kenansville, North Carolina

Kenansville is a town in Duplin County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,149 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Duplin County.-Geography:Kenansville is located at ....

. With his parents, he moved to Tennessee in 1795 to study and practice medicine as a physician in Nashville. In 1799, he entered politics, becoming the Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives

Tennessee House of Representatives

The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.-Constitutional requirements:...

 until 1801. Afterward, he served as a U.S. representative for Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 until 1807, becoming a friend of President Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...

 in the meantime. He was a trustee of the University of Nashville from 1806 to 1816. He died in Nashville during February 1816, and was buried in a cemetery near Nashville. Dickson County in Tennessee is named after him.