Hopkins Lacy Turney (October 3, 1797-August 1, 1857) was a Democratic U.S. Representative and United States Senator from Tennessee. Turney was born in the Smith County settlement of Dixon Springs. As a youth, he was apprenticed to a tailor. He served in the Seminole War in 1818. Subsequent to this he studied law, and passed the bar examination and began a practice in Jasper, Tennessee. Later he moved to Winchester, Tennessee, continuing the practice of law. He was first elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1828.
He was then elected to the U.S. House, serving three terms in that body, 1837-1843, the 25th through 27th Congresses. Subsequent to this he was elected by the Tennessee General Assembly to the U.S. Senate, returning to Washington, DC after a two-year hiatus and serving one six-year term in that body, where he was chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Retrenchment for four years and the U.S. Senate Committee on Patents and the Patent Office for two before returning to his law practice, which he engaged in until shortly before his death. He is buried in Winchester.
This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
