James Fisher Trotter (November 5, 1802March 9, 1866) was a

United States senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

Early life

James Fisher Trotter was born on November 5, 1802, in

Brunswick County, Virginia Brunswick County is a United States county located on the southern border of the Commonwealth of Virginia. This rural county is known as one of the claimants to be the namesake of Brunswick stew. Brunswick County was created in 1720 from parts ...

. He moved to eastern

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

,Thomas H. Somerville, "A Sketch of the Supreme Court of Mississippi", in Horace W. Fuller, ed., '' The Green Bag'', Vol. XI (1899), p. 508. attended private schools, and studied law. He 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 ...

in 1820.

Career

Trotter commenced practice in

Hamilton, Mississippi Hamilton is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Monroe County, Mississippi. Hamilton is located on U.S. Route 45, east of the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway, north of Columbus Air Force Base. The third largest titanium diox ...

, in 1823. He owned slaves. From 1827 to 1829 he was a member of the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected fo ...

and a member of the

Mississippi Senate The Mississippi Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, convenes at the Mississippi State Capitol ...

from 1829 to 1833. In 1833 he was judge of the circuit court of Mississippi; he was later appointed 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 ...

to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John Black and served from January 22 to July 10, 1838, when he resigned. From 1839 to 1842, Trotter was judge of the

Mississippi Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Mississippi is the highest court in the state of Mississippi. It was established in the first constitution of the state following its admission as a State of the Union in 1817 and was known as the High Court of Errors and Appe ...

, Leslie Southwick
Mississippi Supreme Court Elections: A Historical Perspective 1916-1996
18 Miss. C. L. Rev. 115 (1997–1998). having been appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Justice Daniel W. Wright, and then elected in 1839 to a six-year term. He resigned in 1842 and moved to Holly Springs, where he resumed the practice of law. He was vice

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the northern district of Mississippi from 1855 to 1857, and was professor of law at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

from 1860 to 1862. He was appointed circuit judge in 1866 and served until his death later that year.

Death

Trotter died on March 9, 1866, in Holly Springs, Mississippi. He was buried at the

Hillcrest Cemetery Hillcrest Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Holly Springs, Mississippi, United States. Established in 1837, it is known as the "Little Arlington of the South." It contains the burials of five Confederate generals. Location The cemetery is locat ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trotter, James F. 1802 births 1866 deaths People from Brunswick County, Virginia American people of Scottish descent Democratic Party United States senators from Mississippi Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives Democratic Party Mississippi state senators Justices of the Mississippi Supreme Court Mississippi lawyers American slave owners People from Tennessee People from Holly Springs, Mississippi 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers University of Mississippi people Burials at Hillcrest Cemetery United States senators who owned slaves