Representative David Addison Reese

David Addison Reese (March 3, 1794 – December 16, 1871) was an American politician, physician, and member of the Whig Party who represented Georgia in the United States House of Representatives for one term. His career combined medical practice, state legislative service, and national office during a formative period in nineteenth-century American political life.

Reese was born on March 3, 1794, in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Details of his early family life are sparse in the historical record, but his subsequent education and professional achievements indicate that he received a solid preparatory education sufficient to pursue advanced study in medicine. Seeking professional training at a time when formal medical education was becoming more structured in the United States, he left North Carolina for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, one of the leading centers of medical instruction in the early republic.

Reese attended Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, where he completed his medical education. After graduating from Jefferson Medical College, he relocated to Georgia and established a medical practice in Elberton, in Elbert County. His work as a physician in this community anchored his early professional life and provided him with local prominence and public trust. Later, he moved his residence and medical practice to Monticello, in Jasper County, Georgia, where he continued to build his reputation both as a doctor and as a civic figure.

Reese’s entry into public office came through state politics. He was elected to the Georgia Senate in 1829, reflecting the confidence of his community in his leadership and judgment. He was re-elected to the state senate in 1830, and again in 1834, 1835, and 1836, giving him a sustained role in shaping state legislation during a period of growth and political realignment in Georgia. In addition to his legislative duties, Reese contributed to higher education in the state as a trustee of the University of Georgia in Athens, a position he held for twenty-five years. In that capacity, he participated in the governance and oversight of the institution as it expanded its role in educating the state’s professional and political leadership.

At the national level, Reese’s political career culminated in his election to the United States House of Representatives. Running as a member of the Whig Party, he was elected in 1852 to represent Georgia in Congress. His term in the U.S. House coincided with a significant period in American history marked by intensifying sectional tensions and debates over federal authority and slavery. As a Whig representative from Georgia, Reese contributed to the legislative process during his single term in office, participating in the democratic deliberations of the Thirty-third Congress and representing the interests of his Georgia constituents in the national legislature.

Following the completion of his congressional service, Reese returned to his primary profession of medicine. He moved to Auburn, Alabama, where he resumed medical practice and lived during his later years. He continued in this role until his death in Auburn on December 16, 1871. After his death, he was buried in Hopewell Cemetery in West Point, Georgia, reflecting his enduring ties to the state in which he had spent much of his professional and political life.