James Capehart (March 7, 1847 – April 28, 1921) was a businessman and political figure in the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

from

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. He served as 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 ...

from West Virginia in the 52nd and 53rd Congresses.

Biography

Capehart was born in Point Pleasant in Mason County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

(now

). He attended the public schools and went to

Marietta College Marietta College (MC) is a private liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio. It offers more than 50 undergraduate majors across the arts, sciences, and engineering, as well as Physician Assistant, Psychology, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, an ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. He also studied at Duff's Commercial College in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. He worked for his father as a clerk and bookkeeper. From 1867 to 1903 he pursued an interest in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and breeding

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

. He served as president of the Mason County Court in 1871, 1872, and again from 1880 to 1885. In 1888 Capehart was chosen as a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

. He was elected to his first term in Congress in 1890, and was re-elected in 1892, serving from 1891 to 1895 (March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1895; the 52nd and

53rd United States Congress The 53rd 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. from March 4, 1893 ...

es) Capehart chose not to run for re-election in the 1894 contest. After returning to West Virginia, he worked as president of the Point Pleasant National Bank, beginning in 1901. Around 1903 Capehart renewed his interest in agriculture, growing fruit in Brevard County, Florida. He lived in

Cocoa, Florida Cocoa is a city in Brevard County, Florida, Brevard County, Florida. The population was 19,041 at the 2020 United States Census. It is part of the Palm Bay, Florida, Palm Bay–Melbourne, Florida, Melbourne–Titusville, Florida, Titusvil ...

until his death in 1921. He was buried in Lone Oak Cemetery, Point Pleasant, West Virginia.

Sources

*
1847 births 1921 deaths American bank presidents Marietta College alumni People from Cocoa, Florida People from Point Pleasant, West Virginia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from West Virginia {{US-Congress-stub

Biography

See also

Sources