James Archibald Meriwether (September 20, 1806 – April 18, 1852) was a

United States 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 ...

, jurist and lawyer from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. His uncle was U.S. Representative

James Meriwether James Meriwether (1789–1854) was a United States Representative and lawyer from Georgia. His father was David Meriwether and his nephew was James Archibald Meriwether. Early years and education Meriwether was born near Washington, Georgia, Wi ...

Early years and education

Meriwether was born near

Washington, Georgia Washington is the county seat of Wilkes County, Georgia, United States. Under its original name Heard's Fort, it was briefly designated as the state capital during the American Revolutionary War. It is noted as the place where the Confederacy ...

, on September 20, 1806, to James and Susannah Hatcher Meriweather. He graduated from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

(UGA) in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

with a Bachelor of Arts (AB) degree in 1826.

Legal career and military service

After studying law and gaining admittance to the state

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

, he practiced law in

Eatonton, Georgia Eatonton is a city in and county seat of Putnam County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 6,307. It was named after William Eaton, an officer and diplomat involved in the First Barbary War. The name con ...

. He was also captain of a volunteer unit during the

Seminole Wars The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Geography of Florida, Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native Americans in the United States, Native American nation whi ...

Political service

From 1831 to 1836 and again in 1838, Meriwether served in the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. T ...

as a representative of

Clarke County Clarke County may refer to: ;Places *One of five counties in the United States: **Clarke County, Alabama **Clarke County, Georgia **Clarke County, Iowa **Clarke County, Mississippi **Clarke County, Virginia * Clarke County, New South Wales, in Aust ...

. From 1845 to 1849, he served as a judge of the superior court for the Eatonton (Ocmulgee) district . In 1840, he was elected as a Whig Representative from Georgia to the

27th United States Congress The 27th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. between March 4, 1 ...

and served one term from March 4, 1841, until March 3, 1843. He returned to the Georgia House in for one term in 1843. In 1851 he was once again elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, and served as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

of that body in 1852.

Personal life

Meriwether married Rebecca Carleton McKigney, and together the couple had eight children who survived past childhood.

Death

Meriwether died on April 18, 1852, in Eatonton and was buried in that city's Union Cemetery.

References

External links

*
Letter dated April 25, 1852 reporting the sudden death of Judge James Archibald Meriwether

''History of the University of Georgia'', Thomas Walter Reed, Imprint: Athens, Georgia : University of Georgia, ca. 1949, pp. 215–216
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meriwether, James 1806 births 1852 deaths Members of the Georgia House of Representatives Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges University of Georgia alumni American people of the Seminole Wars People from Wilkes County, Georgia Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Eatonton, Georgia 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves