James Witherell

James Witherell

James Witherell (born June 16, 1759 in Mansfield , Bristol County , Province of Massachusetts Bay , † January 9, 1838 in Detroit , Michigan ) was an American politician . Between 1807 and 1808 he represented the first constituency of the state of Vermont in the US House of Representatives .

Career

James Witherell attended public schools in his home country and participated in the War of Independence between 1775 and 1783 . He was seriously wounded in 1777. After the war, Witherell studied medicine. In 1788 he was admitted to practice as a doctor. In the same year he moved to Hampton , Vermont, and a year later to Fair Haven , also in Vermont. He practiced as a doctor in both places.

Politically, Witherell was a member of the Democratic Republican Party founded by Thomas Jefferson . Between 1798 and 1802 he was an MP in the Vermont House of Representatives . Between 1801 and 1803 he was an associate district judge, which suggests that he had previously studied law. From 1803 to 1806 Witherell served as a district judge in Rutland County . 1806 Witherell was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , where he succeeded Gideon Olin on March 4, 1807 . He only exercised this mandate until May 1, 1808. He then resigned after being appointed Justice of the Michigan Territory Supreme Court by President Jefferson . His parliamentary mandate went to Samuel Shaw after a by-election .

Witherell was a judge in Michigan between 1808 and 1828. During the British-American War of 1812 he was temporarily commander of the US troops in Detroit. There he was also taken prisoner of war. He was later released. Between 1828 and 1830 he was an executive officer in the Michigan Territory, an office to which he was appointed by President John Quincy Adams . James Witherell died in Detroit in January 1838. He was married to Amy Hawkins, with whom he had six children. His son Benjamin (1797-1867) was a local politician in Michigan and a judge at the Supreme Court of that state. His grandson Thomas W. Palmer represented Michigan in the US Senate between 1883 and 1889 .

Web links

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

• 63434474 James Witherell in the database of Find a Grave (English)