James William Stokes (December 12, 1853 – July 6, 1901) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. Born near

Orangeburg, South Carolina Orangeburg, also known as ''The Garden City'', is the principal city in and the county seat of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population of the city was 13,964 according to the 2010 United States Census and declined to 12 ...

, Stokes attended the common schools and was graduated from

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines ...

, in 1876. He taught school for 12 years. He was graduated in medicine from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. He engaged in agricultural pursuits in 1889. He served as president of the State

Farmers' Alliance The Farmers' Alliance was an organized agrarian economic movement among American farmers that developed and flourished ca. 1875. The movement included several parallel but independent political organizations — the National Farmers' Alliance and ...

. He served as member of the

South Carolina Senate The South Carolina Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives. It consists of 46 senators elected from single member districts for four-year terms at the sa ...

in 1890. He served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1892. He was defeated by the African-American

George W. Murray George Washington Murray (September 22, 1853 – April 21, 1926), born into slavery in South Carolina, gained education and worked as a teacher, farmer and politician. After serving as chairman of the Sumter County Republican Party, he was ele ...

for election in 1892 to the Fifty-third Congress, but was successful in the 1894 election. He presented credentials as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

ic Member-elect to the Fifty-fourth Congress and served from March 4, 1895, to June 1, 1896, when the seat was declared vacant. Stokes was elected as Democrat in a special election to fill the vacancy thus caused. In 1895, South Carolina ratified a new constitution that disfranchised black voters. It became a one-party, Democratic state, with contests settled in the primaries. This situation continued until passage of federal civil rights legislation in the 1960s. Stokes was re-elected as a

to the Fifty-fifth, Fifty-sixth and Fifty-seventh Congresses and served from November 3, 1896, until his death in

, July 6, 1901. He was interred in Sunnyside Cemetery.

Sources

Memorial addresses on the life and character of J. William Stokes, late a representative from South Carolina delivered in the House of Representatives and Senate frontispiece 1902
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stokes, James William 1853 births 1901 deaths Washington and Lee University alumni Vanderbilt University alumni People from Orangeburg, South Carolina Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina 19th-century American politicians

See also

Sources