Joseph E. Washington

Joseph Edwin Washington (November 10, 1851 – August 28, 1915) was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the 6th congressional district of Tennessee.

Early life Washington was born on November 10, 1851, on his family tobacco plantation, Wessyngton, near Cedar Hill, Tennessee in Robertson County. His father, George Augustine Washington, was a planter and major slaveholder, a director of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, and a member of the Tennessee General Assembly from 1873 to 1875. but he was not a candidate for renomination in 1896. He was the chairman of the United States House Committee on Territories during the Fifty-second Congress.

Appointed road commissioner, Washington had charge of the road construction work of Robertson County. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of Vanderbilt University and a director of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis and Nashville & Decatur Railroads. He resumed agricultural pursuits, managing the family's tobacco plantation, Wessyngton, in Robertson County, Tennessee.

Personal life and death Washington married Mary Bolling Kemp and they had four children, George, Anne, Joseph, and Elizabeth.

Washington died on August 28, 1915, (aged 63) on the family estate. He is interred at the family burying ground on his estate.