Representative Wynne F. Clouse

Wynne F. Clouse (August 29, 1883 – February 19, 1944) was a Republican U.S. Representative from Tennessee who served one term in the United States Congress from 1921 to 1923. He was born in Goffton, near Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee, the son of Thomas Jefferson Clouse and Eunetta Zina Bumbalough Clouse. Raised in rural Middle Tennessee, he attended local public schools before pursuing further education. In 1898 he was graduated from Cleveland Hill Academy in Pleasant Hill, Tennessee, an institution that prepared many young Tennesseans for professional and academic careers at the turn of the twentieth century.

Following his early schooling, Clouse continued his education in law. He enrolled at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee, where he studied at the Cumberland School of Law, one of the South’s prominent legal training institutions of the era. He graduated in 1911 and, in the same year, was admitted to the bar. In 1912 he commenced the practice of law in Cookeville, Tennessee, establishing himself as an attorney in his home region. On December 23, 1907, prior to completing his legal studies, he married Linnie Shine Dowell; the couple had one child, a daughter, Eunetta Clouse.

Clouse’s legal career soon intersected with Republican Party politics in Tennessee. He became active in party affairs and served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1916, reflecting his growing prominence within the state party organization. His participation in national party deliberations helped to elevate his profile and laid the groundwork for his later bid for federal office. During these years he continued his law practice, building a reputation that would support his entry into elective politics.

In 1920, Clouse was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-seventh Congress, representing Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives. His term of service extended from March 4, 1921, to March 3, 1923. Serving during a significant period in American history marked by post–World War I adjustment and the early years of the Harding administration, Clouse contributed to the legislative process as a member of the House of Representatives. As a Representative from Tennessee, he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his constituents in Congress, aligning with Republican policies of the era on economic and governmental issues. A member of the Republican Party, he served one term in office and sought to advance the concerns of his district within the broader national debates of the early 1920s.

Clouse was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1922 to the Sixty-eighth Congress and left office at the conclusion of his term in March 1923. After his congressional service, he resumed the practice of law, relocating his professional base to Nashville, Tennessee. He remained active in Republican politics and again served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1924, maintaining his role in national party affairs even after his tenure in the House had ended.

In addition to his private legal practice, Clouse held several important federal and quasi-public appointments in the years following his congressional service. He was appointed receiver of the Tennessee Central Railroad Company, a position that placed him at the center of efforts to manage and stabilize a key regional transportation enterprise. In 1924 he served as a special assistant to the Attorney General of the United States, reflecting the confidence federal authorities placed in his legal abilities. Subsequently, he was appointed Referee in Bankruptcy for the Nashville division of the Middle District of Tennessee, a judicially related post in which he oversaw bankruptcy proceedings. He served in that capacity until his resignation in January 1940, concluding a lengthy period of public and semi-judicial service.

Wynne F. Clouse died in Franklin, Tennessee, on February 19, 1944, at the age of 60. He was interred at Mount Hope Cemetery in Franklin. His career encompassed service as a local attorney, party delegate, member of Congress, federal appointee, and bankruptcy referee, reflecting a lifetime of engagement with the law, public service, and Republican politics in Tennessee during the first half of the twentieth century.