James Harvey Birch (March 27, 1804 – January 11, 1878) was a Missouri politician and a judge of the

Supreme Court of Missouri The Supreme Court of Missouri is the highest court in the state of Missouri. It was established in 1820 and is located at 207 West High Street in Jefferson City, Missouri. Missouri voters have approved changes in the state's constitution to give ...

from 1849 to 1851. Born in

Montgomery County, Virginia Montgomery County is a county located in the Valley and Ridge area of the U.S. state of Virginia. As population in the area increased, Montgomery County was formed in 1777 from Fincastle County, which in turn had been taken from Botetourt Count ...

, his father moved to Kentucky while Birch was still a boy. First taking up the study of medicine Birch abandoned it for the law. He moved to Missouri in 1826, where he was first employed on the editorial staff of the St. Louis "Enquirer," Senator Benton's "organ." The following year he established the "Western Monitor" at Fayette. In 1828 he was clerk of the lower branch of the General Assembly, and at the next session secretary of the upper branch of that body. In 1834 he was elected to the

Missouri State Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 174,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...

, taking a prominent part in its proceedings, and chairing the committee to revise the statutes of the State. He resigned before his term expired, but in 1843 accepted the appointment from President

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president dire ...

as register of the newly established land office at

Plattsburg, Missouri Plattsburg is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area in the western part of the state, within the United States. It developed along the Little Platte River. As of the 2020 cen ...

.L. C. Krauthoff, "The Supreme Court of Missouri", in

Horace Williams Fuller Horace Williams Fuller (June 15, 1844 – October 26, 1901) was an American lawyer and editor who served as the first editor of ''The Green Bag'', a late-19th- and early-20th century legal news and humor magazine. Life and career Born in Aug ...

, ed., '' The Green Bag'' (1891), Vol. 3, p. 173-74. In 1848, an amendment to the Missouri Constitution vacated the offices of the judges then serving on the Supreme Court, and established a new court with judges to be appointed by the governor for twelve year terms. On January 27, 1849, Governor

Austin Augustus King Austin Augustus King (September 21, 1802 – April 22, 1870), also known as Austin A. King and Austin King, was an American lawyer, politician, and military officer. A Democrat, he was the tenth Governor of Missouri and a one-term United Sta ...

appointed Birch, along with

William Barclay Napton William Barclay Napton (1808–1883) was an American politician and jurist from the state of Missouri. A Democrat, Napton served as the state's 4th Attorney General, and multiple terms on the Missouri Supreme Court. Early life William Barclay N ...

and John F. Ryland, to terms on the court. Birch "felt himself out of his element on the bench", and when another constitutional amendment made the position an elected office, he did not seek re-election in 1851. He afterward accepted a second appointment as Register of the Plattsburg Land Office, which had become an important post by reason of the large influx of immigration to that garden spot known as the Platte Purchase. Birch was a candidate for a seat in the United States Congress several times, but was not successful. In 1861 he became a member of the Gamble Convention, in which he was a prominent figure by reason of his eloquence and his firm stand in favor of the Union. Burke died at his home in

.''Shelbina Democrat'' (January 16, 1878), p. 4.

References

1804 births 1878 deaths People from Montgomery County, Virginia Missouri state senators Judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges {{Missouri-stub