issues, one of Senter's primary concerns was the state's rising debt. In December 1869, Senter called for prison reform, arguing that prisons had become a financial drain on the state. Hoping to encourage immigration into the state and increase property tax revenues, Senter established the Tennessee Immigration and Labor Association in February 1871. He also favored initiatives to help railroads struggling to pay interest on state-issued bonds. In 1870, Senter used his influence to help establish Hamblen County, which was created from parts of Grainger, Jefferson, and Hawkins counties. Senter's home was located within the new county. Later life Senter's policies, which allowed Democrats to regain control of the state, angered the state's Republicans, and effectively ended his political career. He spent his remaining years managing his large farm near Morristown. He died on June 14, 1898, and is buried in Morristown's Emma Jarnagin Cemetery. Family Senter married Harriet Senter (a distant cousin) in 1859. She was the daughter of Grainger County's circuit court clerk, P.M. Senter. They had no children. References External links National Governors Association bio Governor Dewitt Clinton Senter Papers, 1869 - 1871, Tennessee State Library and Archives. 1830 births 1898 deaths Governors of Tennessee Tennessee state senators Members of the Tennessee House of Representatives People from McMinn County, Tennessee People from Hamblen County, Tennessee People from Morristown, Tennessee Tennessee Whigs 19th-century American politicians Tennessee Republicans Southern Unionists in the American Civil War Republican Party governors of Tennessee