Edward A. Hannegan
Encyclopedia
Edward Allen Hannegan was a United States Representative and Senator
from Indiana
.
, he moved with his parents to Bourbon County, Kentucky
the same year. He attended the public schools, studied law at Transylvania University
, taught school, and worked as a farm hand. Hannegan moved to Fountain County, Indiana
about 1825 where he worked as a farm hand and as a school teacher. He was admitted to the bar
in April 1828 in Fountain County. Moving the following year, he was admitted to practice law in Warren County, Indiana
on May 27, 1829, settling in Williamsport
. A few months later, he moved to Covington
, where he continued the practice of law. At some unknown time, Hannegan became a Freemason
. On April 4, 1829, he married Margaret Chambers Duncan in Knox County, Indiana
; they had one son, Sellman Key Hannegan, born January 20, 1832.
1832-1833 and 1841-1842. He was elected as a Democrat
to the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1833–March 3, 1837.
Hannegan was not a candidate for renomination in 1836 and resumed the practice of law; he was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in 1842 and served from March 4, 1843, to March 3, 1849. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1849, losing to Governor James Whitcomb
.
While in the Senate, he was chairman of the Committee on Private Land Claims (Twenty-ninth Congress) and a member of the Committee on Roads and Canals (Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Congresses) and the Committee on Foreign Relations (Thirtieth Congress).
He was appointed by President James K. Polk
United States Minister to Prussia
March 29, 1849 and served 1849-1850. The Queen consort
of King Frederick William IV
became infatuated with Hannegan. During a court function, Hannegan broke custom and kissed the hand of the queen. Irate and possibly jealous, King Frederick Wilhelm IV requested that Hannegan be recalled.
Upon his return to the United States, Hannegan resumed his law practice in Covington.
due to conflict with the local Potawatomi
who were being forced to leave Indiana for Osawatomie
in the Kansas Territory
. This event became known as the Trail of Death
because more than 40 of the 850 tribal members died on the march.
Hannegan was arrested and charged with manslaughter. At the time, Lew Wallace
was the prosecuting attorney for Covington; he was also a close friend of Hannegan. Because Wallace's prosecution was so weak and Hannegan was permitted to present his case (an unusual practice), the grand jury refused to indict Hannegan. Wallace was heavily criticized by the community for his prosecution and forced to resign and move to Crawfordsville
. Daniel W. Voorhees
was then appointed to replace Wallace. Despite the evidence, Voorhees decided not present the case to the grand jury, and he too was forced to leave Covington. The case was dismissed by Judge Isaac Naylor, September 18, 1852.
where his son was already living. He practiced law there for two years and was preparing to reenter politics. Hannegan's wife preceded him in death and he continued drinking and developed a morphine
habit. He was the keynote speaker at a political rally on February 24, 1859 promoting the candidacy of Stephen A. Douglas
for president. Hannegan was intoxicated and under the influence of morphine when he delivered the address, which was poorly received. Derided and ridiculed for his performance, Hannegan returned to his room where he overdosed on morphine, his body being discovered the following day. Interment was in Woodlawn Cemetery, Terre Haute, Indiana
.
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
.
Early life and education
Born in Hamilton County, OhioHamilton County, Ohio
As of 2000, there were 845,303 people, 346,790 households, and 212,582 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,075 people per square mile . There were 373,393 housing units at an average density of 917 per square mile...
, he moved with his parents to Bourbon County, Kentucky
Bourbon County, Kentucky
Bourbon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the remnant of what was previously a much larger Bourbon County, established as part of Virginia in 1785, and comprising what are now thirty-four modern Kentucky counties...
the same year. He attended the public schools, studied law at Transylvania University
Transylvania University
Transylvania University is a private, undergraduate liberal arts college in Lexington, Kentucky, United States, affiliated with the Christian Church . The school was founded in 1780. It offers 38 majors, and pre-professional degrees in engineering and accounting...
, taught school, and worked as a farm hand. Hannegan moved to Fountain County, Indiana
Fountain County, Indiana
Fountain County lies in the western part of the U.S. state of Indiana on the east side of the Wabash River. The county was officially established in 1826 and was the 53rd in Indiana. The county seat is Covington....
about 1825 where he worked as a farm hand and as a school teacher. He was admitted to the bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
in April 1828 in Fountain County. Moving the following year, he was admitted to practice law in Warren County, Indiana
Warren County, Indiana
Warren County lies in western Indiana between the Illinois border and the Wabash River in the United States. Before the arrival of non-indigenous settlers in the early 19th century, the area was inhabited by several Native American tribes. The county was officially established in 1827 and...
on May 27, 1829, settling in Williamsport
Williamsport, Indiana
Williamsport is a town in Washington Township, Warren County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,898 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Warren County and is the largest of the four incorporated towns in the county...
. A few months later, he moved to Covington
Covington, Indiana
Covington is a city located on the western edge of Fountain County, Indiana. The population was 2,645 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Fountain County.-Geography:Covington is located at ....
, where he continued the practice of law. At some unknown time, Hannegan became a Freemason
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
. On April 4, 1829, he married Margaret Chambers Duncan in Knox County, Indiana
Knox County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 39,256 people, 15,552 households, and 10,139 families residing in the county. The population density was 76 people per square mile . There were 17,305 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile...
; they had one son, Sellman Key Hannegan, born January 20, 1832.
Politics and foreign service
Hannegan was a member of the Indiana House of RepresentativesIndiana House of Representatives
The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House members serve two-year terms without term limits...
1832-1833 and 1841-1842. He was elected as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
to the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1833–March 3, 1837.
Hannegan was not a candidate for renomination in 1836 and resumed the practice of law; he was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in 1842 and served from March 4, 1843, to March 3, 1849. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1849, losing to Governor James Whitcomb
James Whitcomb
James Whitcomb was a Democratic United States Senator and the eighth Governor of Indiana. As governor during the Mexican-American War, he oversaw the formation and deployment of the state's levies...
.
While in the Senate, he was chairman of the Committee on Private Land Claims (Twenty-ninth Congress) and a member of the Committee on Roads and Canals (Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Congresses) and the Committee on Foreign Relations (Thirtieth Congress).
He was appointed by President James K. Polk
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States . Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 12th Governor of Tennessee...
United States Minister to Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
March 29, 1849 and served 1849-1850. The Queen consort
Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria
Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria was a Princess of Bavaria and later Queen consort of Prussia.-Early life and family:...
of King Frederick William IV
Frederick William IV of Prussia
|align=right|Upon his accession, he toned down the reactionary policies enacted by his father, easing press censorship and promising to enact a constitution at some point, but he refused to enact a popular legislative assembly, preferring to work with the aristocracy through "united committees" of...
became infatuated with Hannegan. During a court function, Hannegan broke custom and kissed the hand of the queen. Irate and possibly jealous, King Frederick Wilhelm IV requested that Hannegan be recalled.
Upon his return to the United States, Hannegan resumed his law practice in Covington.
Military service
On August 5, 1838, Hannegan received a commission as a colonel in the Indiana militia. He was stationed at Fort PlymouthPlymouth, Indiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 9,840 people, 3,838 households, and 2,406 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,414.0 people per square mile . There were 4,100 housing units at an average density of 589.2 per square mile...
due to conflict with the local Potawatomi
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
who were being forced to leave Indiana for Osawatomie
Osawatomie, Kansas
Osawatomie is a city in Miami County, Kansas, United States, southwest of Kansas City. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,447. It derives its name from two streams nearby, the Osage and Potawatomie.-History:...
in the Kansas Territory
Kansas Territory
The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Kansas....
. This event became known as the Trail of Death
Potawatomi Trail of Death
The Potawatomi Trail of Death was the forced removal by United States forces from September 4 to November 4, 1838, of 859 members of the Potawatomi nation from Twin Lakes near Plymouth, Indiana, to the location of present-day Osawatomie, Kansas, a distance of . Typhoid fever and the stress of the...
because more than 40 of the 850 tribal members died on the march.
Murder case
Hannegan was an alcoholic from a young age. On the night of May 6, 1852 his brother-in-law, Captain John R. Duncan, who had served honorably in the Mexican-American War and with whom he and his wife lived with, confronted Hannegan about his heavy drinking out of concern for Hannegan's political future. Hannegan's wife took him by the arm and attempted to take him upstairs away from the argument. Hannegan grabbed a nearby cane dagger and mortally wounded Duncan by stabbing him in the neck to the hilt of the dagger. Duncan died the following day, declaring that no blame should be placed on Hannegan.Hannegan was arrested and charged with manslaughter. At the time, Lew Wallace
Lew Wallace
Lewis "Lew" Wallace was an American lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, territorial governor and statesman, politician and author...
was the prosecuting attorney for Covington; he was also a close friend of Hannegan. Because Wallace's prosecution was so weak and Hannegan was permitted to present his case (an unusual practice), the grand jury refused to indict Hannegan. Wallace was heavily criticized by the community for his prosecution and forced to resign and move to Crawfordsville
Crawfordsville, Indiana
Crawfordsville is a city in Union Township, Montgomery County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 15,915. The city is the county seat of Montgomery County...
. Daniel W. Voorhees
Daniel W. Voorhees
Daniel Wolsey Voorhees was a lawyer and United States Senator from Indiana, who was leader of the Democratic party and an anti-war Copperhead during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
was then appointed to replace Wallace. Despite the evidence, Voorhees decided not present the case to the grand jury, and he too was forced to leave Covington. The case was dismissed by Judge Isaac Naylor, September 18, 1852.
Later life and death
Hannegan continued to practice law in Covington until 1857 when he moved to St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
where his son was already living. He practiced law there for two years and was preparing to reenter politics. Hannegan's wife preceded him in death and he continued drinking and developed a morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
habit. He was the keynote speaker at a political rally on February 24, 1859 promoting the candidacy of Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...
for president. Hannegan was intoxicated and under the influence of morphine when he delivered the address, which was poorly received. Derided and ridiculed for his performance, Hannegan returned to his room where he overdosed on morphine, his body being discovered the following day. Interment was in Woodlawn Cemetery, Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
.