James Hay

This article is about the politician James Hay. On the noble, see James Hay, 15th Earl of Erroll ; on the colonial administrator, see James Shaw Hay .

James Hay (1910)

James Hay (born January 9, 1856 in Millwood , Clarke County , Virginia , † June 12, 1931 in Madison , Virginia) was an American lawyer and politician . Between 1897 and 1916 he represented the state of Virginia in the US House of Representatives ; then he became a federal judge .

Career

James Hay first attended private schools and then studied at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia . After a subsequent law degree at Washington and Lee University in Lexington and his admission as a lawyer in 1877, he began to work in Harrisonburg in this profession. In 1879 he moved his residence and law firm to Madison. From 1883 to 1896 he worked as a public prosecutor. At the same time he embarked on a political career as a member of the Democratic Party . He served in the Virginia House of Representatives from 1885 to 1889 ; from 1893 to 1897 he was a member of the State Senate . In 1888 he was a member of the Democratic Bureau and delegate to the Democratic National Convention in St. Louis , where President Grover Cleveland was nominated for re-election.

In the congressional election of 1896 , Hay was elected to the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC , in the seventh constituency of Virginia , where he succeeded Smith S. Turner on March 4, 1897 . After nine re-elections, he could remain in Congress until he resigned on October 1, 1916 . From 1911 he was chairman of the military committee. He was involved in drafting the National Defense Act of 1916. During his time as a congressman, the Spanish-American War of 1898 and the ratification of the 16th and 17th amendments to the constitution took place .

Hay's resignation as Congressman came after his appointment as a judge on the United States Court of Claims . He held this office until December 1, 1927; then he retired. James Hay died in Madison on June 12, 1931.

Web links

• James Hay in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• James Hay in the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges

• James Hay in the database of Find a Grave (English)