Background
Humphreys was born in Staunton, Virginia, but moved with his family to Kentucky in 1789, and later settled in Tennessee.
Humphreys was born in Staunton, Virginia, but moved with his family to Kentucky in 1789, and later settled in Tennessee.
After he finished preparatory studies, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1801.
Humphreys opened his practice in Nashville, Tennessee. He was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1805 and the Tennessee Senate in 1807. He was a Justice of the Supreme Court of Tennessee from 1807 to 1809 and a judge of the State judicial circuit from 1809 to 1813.
Elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Thirteenth Congress, Humphreys served from March 4, 1813 to March 3, 1815.
In 1817 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate. He again served as a judge on the State judicial circuit from 1818 to 1836.
Humphreys County, Tennessee is named for him. Humphreys moved to Hernando, Mississippi and engaged in banking there until his death on February 12, 1839, at about 61 years.
He is interred at Methodist Cemetery.