William Wirt Vaughan was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 for the 8th congressional district

Tennessee's 8th congressional district

The 8th Congressional District of Tennessee is a congressional district in Tennessee. It currently includes roughly the northwestern part of the state....

 of 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...

. He was born on July 2, 1831 in LaGuardo (now Martha), Tennessee in Wilson County. He attended the common schools and graduated from Cumberland University

Cumberland University

Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1842, though the current campus buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896.-History:...

 in Lebanon, Tennessee

Lebanon, Tennessee

Lebanon is a city in Wilson County, Tennessee, in the United States. The population was 20,235 at the 2000 census. It serves as the county seat of Wilson County. Lebanon is located in middle Tennessee, approximately 25 miles east of downtown Nashville. Local residents have also called it...

. He studied law, was admitted to the bar

Bar association

A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...

 in 1860, and commenced practice in Brownsville, Tennessee

Brownsville, Tennessee

Brownsville is a city in Haywood County, Tennessee, United States. It is the county seat of Haywood County. The city is named after Jacob Jennings Brown, an officer who served during The War of 1812.-Geography:...

.

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 Forty-second Congress. He served from March 4, 1871 to March 3, 1873, but was not a successful candidate for re-election in 1872 to the Forty-third Congress. He resumed the practice of law in Brownsville and became one of the prime movers in the building of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad branch from Brownsville to Newbern

Newbern, Tennessee

Newbern is a town in Dyer County, Tennessee, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 3,313.-Natural Disasters:Sixteen people were killed in Newbern when its surrounding communities were directly hit by an F3 tornado April 2, 2006...

. He was president of the system at the time of his death. He became a candidate for election in 1878 to the Forty-sixth Congress, but on August 19, 1878 he died in Crockett Mills near Alamo, Tennessee

Alamo, Tennessee

Alamo, Tennessee, is a town in Crockett County, Tennessee. Its population was 2,461 at the time of the 2010 U.S. Census. Alamo, for interesting historical reasons, is the county seat of Crockett County, Tennessee...

 in Crockett County while canvassing the district. He was interred

Burial

Burial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...

in Oakwood Cemetery in Brownsville, Tennessee.