James Phelps (politician)

James Phelps

James Phelps (born January 12, 1822 in Colebrook , Litchfield County , Connecticut , †  January 15, 1900 in Essex , Connecticut) was an American politician . Between 1875 and 1883 he represented the second constituency of the state of Connecticut in the US House of Representatives .

Career

James Phelps was the son of Lancelot Phelps (1784-1866), who had served in Congress between 1835 and 1839 for the fifth district of Connecticut . The younger Phelps attended his homeland public schools and the Episcopal Academy in Cheshire and Trinity College in Hartford . After studying law at Yale College and his admission to the bar in 1845, he began his new profession in Essex.

Phelps was a member of the Democratic Party . He was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1853, 1854, and 1856 ; In 1858 and 1859 he was a member of the State Senate . Between 1863 and 1873 Phelps was a judge in the Superior Court of Connecticut , between 1873 and 1875 he was a judge in the Supreme Court of Errors in his state.

In 1874 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the Second District of Connecticut . There he took over on March 4, 1875, succeeding Republican Stephen Wright Kellogg , whom he had defeated in the election. After three re-elections, Phelps was able to complete a total of four legislative terms in Congress by March 3, 1883. In 1882 he turned down another candidacy. After his time in the US House of Representatives, he worked as a lawyer again. Between 1885 and 1892 he was again a judge at the Superior Court . He has also served as a delegate to several Connecticut regional Democratic conventions. He also got into the banking industry. James Phelps died in Essex on January 15, 1900.

Web links

• James Phelps in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

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