Francis James (congressman) explained

Francis James
Image Name:Francis James (1799–1886), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania.jpg
State1:Pennsylvania
District1:4th
Term Start1:March 4, 1839
Term End1:March 3, 1843
Preceded1:See below
Succeeded1:Charles Jared Ingersoll
Office2:Member of the Pennsylvania Senate for the 4th district
Term2:1835-1836
Preceded2:George C. Smith
Succeeded2:Samuel A. Smith
Birth Date:1 April 1799
Birth Place:Thornbury Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Death Place:West Chester, Pennsylvania
Resting Place:Oaklands Cemetery, West Chester, Pennsylvania
Party:Anti-Masonic
Whig

Francis James (April 4, 1799 – January 4, 1886) was an American politician from Pennsylvania who was an Anti-Masonic and Whig member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district from 1839 to 1843.

Biography

Francis James was born in Thornbury Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. He attended the local public schools and Gauses' Academy. He began reading law in 1823 and gained admittance to the bar of Chester County, Pennsylvania in May 1825. He commenced practice in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He married Sarah H. James of Westtown Township, Pennsylvania, on September 7, 1826, and had one daughter, Anna M. James. He was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 4th district, serving from 1835 to 1836, and again for the 3rd district, serving from 1837 to 1838.[1] [2]

In October 1838, James was elected as an Anti-Mason to the 26th U.S. Congress and in 1840 reelected as a Whig to the 27th Congress. He served from March 4, 1839 to March 3, 1843. During his second term, Representative James chaired the House Committee on Revisal and Unfinished Business. According to J. Smith Futhey and Gilbert Cope (1881), while in Congress James "took a strong anti-slavery position and by speech and vote resisted the encroachments of the slave power."[3]

After departing from Congress, he resumed his legal practice in West Chester and served as the borough's chief burgess in 1850. He died in West Chester on January 4, 1886, and is interred at Oaklands Cemetery.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: James, Francis (1799–1886) . 2022-11-16 . Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  2. Web site: Pennsylvania State Senate Historical Biographies: Francis James . 2022-11-16 . The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. . en.
  3. Book: Futhey, John Smith . History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with Genealogical and Biographical Sketches . Cope . Gilbert . L. H. Everts . 1881 . Philadelphia . 613 . en.