James Carroll (December 2, 1791 – January 16, 1873) was a Maryland politician and director of the

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Company.

Early life

James Carroll was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

on December 2, 1791. He graduated from St. Mary's College in Baltimore in 1808. Carroll studied law, but did not practice. He settled on a farm on the

West River West River may refer to: Rivers Canada *West River (Antigonish, Nova Scotia) in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia * West River (Pictou, Nova Scotia) in Pictou County, Nova Scotia * West River (Halifax, Nova Scotia) in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia * West ...

, but later moved back to Baltimore. His reputation was improved when he became judge of the orphans' court and a trustee of the poor. He served as a director of the

and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Company.

Career

Carroll was elected 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 ...

to the

Twenty-Sixth United States Congress The 26th 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, 1839 ...

to represent Maryland's Fourth District. He took seat in 1839, but had lost re-election and left in 1841. Carroll ran for

Governor of Maryland The Governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...

in 1844, winning his party's nomination, but lost in the general election to Whig

Thomas G. Pratt Thomas George Pratt (February 18, 1804November 9, 1869) was a lawyer and politician from Annapolis, Maryland. He was the 27th governor of Maryland from 1845 to 1848 and a U.S. senator from 1850 to 1857. Early life and career Pratt was born in G ...

by a margin of a mere 548 votes.

Death

He retired and died on January 16, 1873. He is interred in the Carroll vault in

Old Saint Paul's Cemetery Old Saint Paul's Cemetery is a cemetery located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is noted for the several important historical figures that are interred in its grounds. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in ...

. He was a member of the

Carroll family O'Carroll ( ga, Ó Cearbhaill), also known as simply Carroll, Carrol or Carrell, is a Gaelic Irish clan which is the most prominent sept of the Ciannachta (also known as Clan Cian). Their genealogies claim that they are kindred with the Eógana ...

References

External links

1791 births 1873 deaths 19th-century American railroad executives Politicians from Baltimore Baltimore and Ohio Railroad people St. Mary's Seminary and University alumni

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland {{Maryland-politician-stub