Alvin Hawkins

Alvin Hawkins (December 2, 1821 – April 27, 1905) was an American jurist and politician. He served as the 22nd governor of Tennessee from 1881 to 1883, one of just three Republicans to hold this position from the end of Reconstruction to the latter half of the 20th century. Hawkins was also a judge on the Tennessee Supreme Court in the late 1860s, and was briefly the U.S. consul to Havana, Cuba, in 1868.

Early life Hawkins was born in Bath County, Kentucky, the eldest of thirteen children of John Hawkins and Mary (Ralston) Hawkins. He was of English descent. When he was four, his parents moved to Maury County, Tennessee, and two years later moved to Carroll County. Hawkins attended McLemoresville Academy and Bethel College, and was taught farming and blacksmithing by his father. He eventually turned to law, however, which he studied while earning money teaching school. He read law under Judge Benjamin Totten, and was admitted to the bar in 1843. He briefly practiced with his cousin, Isaac R. Hawkins, before establishing his own practice in Huntingdon. He spent the next few months scouting West Tennessee to gather information for the state's military authorities. In 1864, he was appointed United States Attorney for West Tennessee by President Abraham Lincoln. He served alongside J. O. Shackleford and Sam Milligan. Among the cases the court decided during his tenure was Ridley v. Sherbrook, in which the court upheld the Brownlow administration's strict voting requirements.

Later life Following his term as governor, Hawkins returned to his law practice in Huntingdon. He remained active in the Methodist Church, and stumped for unsuccessful Republican gubernatorial candidate Henry Clay Evans in 1894. He died at his home in Huntingdon on April 27, 1905.

Family Hawkins was married on August 17, 1847, to Justina Ott. They had six children, four dying young. Hawkins was from a prominent family; his brother Ashton William Hawkins (1824–1888) was a clerk of the circuit court, a doctor, and a minister. Another brother, Albert G. Hawkins (1841–1908), was a judge, lawyer and served in the Tennessee state senate. Alvin's mother, Mary ("Polly") Graham Ralston, was a first cousin of California governor John Neely Johnson.