James Diament Westcott Jr. (May 10, 1802January 19, 1880) was an American politician of 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 ...

who served as the first Class 3 United States Senator from Florida from 1845 to 1849.

Early life and career

Westcott was born in Alexandria, DC where his father, James Sr., was transitioning from newspaper publisher to politician. James Jr.'s grandfather was a captain in the American Revolutionary War. When Westcott was young, his family moved to New Jersey where his father established a political career in the

Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

and as Secretary of State of New Jersey from 1830 to 1840. James Jr. married Rebecca Bacon Sibley on August 7, 1821.Cape May County, NJ, Records - Marriages
from Liber B of Marriages, Archives of New Jersey. Note that Volume 8, number 1, January–February 2001, p. 11, gives his wife's name as Rebecca Sibley Bacon instead of Rebecca Bacon Sibley. He studied law and was admitted to the

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 ...

while still in his early 20s. In 1830, he moved to the Florida Territory and was appointed territory secretary by Andrew Jackson. His duties sometimes included performing the duties of the governor when the governor was away — all while barely 30 years old.

Duel

In 1832, Westcott ran afoul of a short-tempered fellow lawyer and Kentucky native,

Thomas Baltzell Thomas Baltzell (July 11, 1804 – January 1866) was an American lawyer and politician who was the first popularly elected chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court. Baltzell was also a Florida Territory Senator and a Florida State Representati ...

. Baltzell challenged Westcott to a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

and the two met near the Alabama border on September 25. When the gunfire was over, Westcott was injured but survived while Baltzell escaped unharmed and eventually became a

Florida Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven members: the chief justice and six justices. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geographic diversity, and one ...

chief justice. The exact reason for the duel was not disclosed in official papers.Justice Thomas Baltzell
biography at

web site.Microsoft Word - Final Version.doc

Birth of a state

Westcott served as territory secretary and a member of the Florida Territorial Legislative Council until 1834 and then as

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

of the territory's middle district until 1836. He then returned to the legislature as part of the convention to create a U.S. state constitution. When the first

Florida Constitution The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the powers, duties, structure, and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state. The current Constitu ...

was completed in 1838, Westcott's signature was present (as was that of his former duel-mate, Thomas Baltzell). Seven years later, with the constitution approved, Florida was officially a state.

Senate

When Florida was admitted to the Union in 1845, Westcott ran for U.S. senator and was victorious. Westcott and fellow

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David Levy (Yulee) became the first U.S. Senators from the new state of Florida. In a choice by lot, Westcott was named a Class III senator while Levy was named a Class I meaning Westcott drew the shorter term of four years. While in the Senate, Westcott was the chairman on the Committee on Territories and the Committee on Patents and the Patent Office. He did not run for re-election in 1848.

Post-Senate

Westcott's only term ended in 1849 and, in 1850, he moved to New York City and practiced law there until 1862. In 1862, Westcott moved to Canada where he remained until his death in Montreal. James Westcott's name remained in the Florida public eye as his son, also commonly referred to as James Diament Westcott Jr., became a member of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

, and was Florida Attorney General and a

Justice as well as a Captain in the Confederate States Army — all before his untimely death at age 47. The younger Westcott left most of his estate to what is now

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

which, in turn, eventually named its main administration building in Tallahassee in his honor.

References

External links

James Diament Westcott
at PoliticalGraveyard.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Westcott, James 1802 births 1880 deaths Politicians from Alexandria, Virginia American people of English descent Democratic Party United States senators from Florida Florida Attorneys General Florida Democrats Members of the Florida Territorial Legislature 19th-century American politicians Florida lawyers American duellists American expatriates in Canada 19th-century American lawyers