James Gettis (May 4, 1816 – December 14, 1867) was a lawyer and judge in Tampa,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. He was the second lawyer in Tampa. Gettis was also a city councilman, and state representative, and the first town clerk. Originally from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, Gettis came to Tampa in 1848. He promoted development of Tampa and sought to bring rail service to the area. An ardent

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

secessionist during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, he attended Florida's Secession Convention and signed the Ordinance of Secession, and was the hero of the

Battle of Tampa The Battle of Tampa, also known as the "Yankee Outrage at Tampa", was a minor engagement of the American Civil War fought June 30 – July 1, 1862, between the United States Navy and a Confederate artillery company charged with "protecting" ...

Lawyer and judge

He was the second lawyer admitted to the bar in Tampa, on October 24, 1848, and tutored other law students, including John A. Henderson and Henry L. Mitchell. James McKay Sr. was one of his clients. His law office was on Franklin Street. In 1865, Gettis was appointed Circuit and Probate judge.

Civil War

Though he held no slaves, Gettis was a pro-slavery secessionist, and was one of two delegates form Hillsborough County to vote for secession when the Convention met in January 1861. He served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War for a brief period, as captain of the

7th Florida Infantry The 7th Florida Infantry Regiment was a Civil War regiment from Florida organized at Gainesville, in April, 1862. Its companies were recruited in the counties of Bradford, Hillsborough, Alachua, Manatee, and Marion. During the war it served in R. ...

, Company B, the "South Florida Rifles". Gettis was singled out for his bravery by captain

John William Pearson John William Pearson (January 19, 1808 – September 30, 1864) was an American businessman and a Confederate Captain during the American Civil War. Pearson was a successful businessman who established a popular health resort in Orange Springs ...

during the Battle of Tampa. He received a medical discharge and returned to Tampa due to ill health, inflicted with "incipient phthisis and chronic diarrhea".James Gettis: Tampa Pioneer Lawyer
by Kyle S. VanLandingham Sunland Tribune March 2018 Sunland Tribune: Vol. 23, Article 6. PDF file via Scholar Commons . usf. edu Just before his discharge, he organized the Tampa City Guards.

Personal

He was a Master Mason and American Party member. He had no children, but raised the brothers of W. B. Henderson after the death of Henderson's father. In his will, Gettis left all his property to James F. Henderson. He is buried in Oaklawn Cemetery in downtown Tampa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gettis, James 19th-century American politicians 1816 births 1867 deaths Politicians from Tampa, Florida Confederate States Army personnel 19th-century American lawyers People of Florida in the American Civil War People from Pennsylvania