James Wilson (politician, 1797)

James Wilson

James Wilson (born March 18, 1797 in Peterborough , New Hampshire , † May 29, 1881 in Keene , New Hampshire) was an American politician . Between 1847 and 1850 he represented the state of New Hampshire in the US House of Representatives .

Career

James Wilson was a son of the same name James Wilson (1766-1839), who sat in Congress for New Hampshire between 1809 and 1811 . The younger Wilson attended schools in New Ipswich , Atkinson, and Exeter . In 1815 he moved to Keene with his parents. He then studied at Middlebury College until 1820 . Between 1820 and 1840 he was a member of the militia of his state, in which he rose to major general over the years.

After studying law and being admitted to the bar in 1823, Wilson began practicing this profession in Keene. At the same time he embarked on a political career. From 1825 to 1837 and 1840 and 1846 he was a member of the House of Representatives from New Hampshire ; In 1828 he succeeded Henry Hubbard as Speaker of this Chamber. Wilson became a member of the Whig Party , whose federal convention he attended as a delegate in 1840. In the years 1835 and 1838 he ran unsuccessfully for the office of governor of New Hampshire. Between 1841 and 1845 he was the land surveyor in the Wisconsin Territory and Iowa Territory .

In 1846, Wilson was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , in the Third District of New Hampshire , where he succeeded Democrat James Hutchins Johnson on March 4, 1847 . After re-election in 1848, he could remain in Congress until his resignation on September 9, 1850. During this time the Spanish-American War ended . In his first term, between 1847 and 1849, Wilson chaired the Department of Post's Expenditures Committee.

Between 1851 and 1853, Wilson was one of the agents in charge of handling private land claims in California. He then settled in San Francisco . He stayed in this town until 1867 when he returned to Keene. Between 1871 and 1872 Wilson was once again a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Then he withdrew from politics. He died in Keene on May 29, 1881.

Web links

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

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