Preceded by Pierre Soule Resigned March 3, 1853 Name Solomon Downs Succeeded by Judah P. Benjamin | Spouse(s) Ann Marie McCaleb Political party Democratic Party Democratic Party | |
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Alma mater Transylvania University Profession Politician, Lawyer, Farmer Role Former United States Senator Died August 14, 1854, Lincoln County, Kentucky, United States | ||
Education Transylvania University Previous office Senator (TN) 1847–1853 | ||
Solomon Weathersbee Downs (1801 – August 14, 1854) was a United States Senator from Louisiana. Born in Montgomery County, Tennessee, he pursued classical studies and graduated from the Transylvania University (in Lexington, Kentucky) in 1823. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1826 and commenced practice in Bayou Sara, Louisiana. He moved to Ouachita, Louisiana and then to New Orleans in 1845, where he engaged in the practice of law and was a successful planter.
Downs was United States Attorney for the district of Louisiana from 1845 to 1847 and a member of the State constitutional convention. He was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate and served from March 4, 1847, to March 3, 1853; while in the Senate he was chairman of the Committee on Engrossed Bills (Thirtieth Congress) and a member of the Committee on Private Land Claims (Thirtieth through Thirty-second Congresses). He was appointed by President Franklin Pierce as collector of the port of New Orleans in 1853. He died in Lincoln County, Kentucky and was buried on his family plantation (later reinterred in Riverview Cemetery, Monroe, Ouachita.)