James Knox (July 4, 1807 – October 8, 1876) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. Born in Canajoharie, New York, Knox was the son of James and Nancy (Ehle) Knox. Knox entered the Sophomore class of

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...

, Clinton, New York, in 1827, and a year later entered the corresponding class at

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

, the former institution having been temporarily broken up by dissensions. After graduation from Yale in 1830, he studied law with William. H. Maynard and Joshua A. Spencer, in

Utica, New York Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 ...

. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1833 and after May's death became the partner of Spencer. He moved to Illinois in 1836 and settled in

Knoxville, Illinois Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,911 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical Area. Description Knoxville is located just southeast of the City of Galesburg. Ther ...

Knox County, Illinois Knox County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 49,967. Its county seat is Galesburg. Knox County comprises the Galesburg, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Knox County was ...

, with one of his brothers, whose ill-health soon threw on him an extensive mercantile business, so that his law-practice was abandoned. In the winter of 1841, he was married to Prudence H. Blish, of Wethersfield, Illinois, whose death in 1846 so depressed him that he undertook a variety of additional employments as a relief. He became the proprietor and occasional editor of the village newspaper, engaged extensively in farming, and established a very thriving business in the manufacture of agricultural implements. In 1846 he was an unsuccessful candidate for US Congress. He served as delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1847. Knox was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-third Congress in and reelected as an

Opposition Party Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...

candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1857). He served as chairman of the Committee on Roads and Canals (Thirty-fourth Congress). Owing to failing eyesight, he went to Europe in Oct., 1859, and after a successful operation for cataract returned in Jan., 1861. In Sept, 1865, he again visited Europe for an operation on his eyes, and remained until May, 1869; and in 1872-3 made a third foreign visit. He died in Knoxville, after an illness of two weeks, Oct. 9, 1876, aged 69 years. He had no children. He was interred in City Cemetery. From his ample estate he gave during his lifetime the sum of $10,000 to Yale, $20,000 to Hamilton College, and upwards of $30,000 to educational institutions in his adopted county. He also left in his last will a further sum of money for the promotion of education. The degree of

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

was conferred on him by Hamilton College in 1862.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Knox, James 1807 births 1876 deaths People from Montgomery County, New York Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois Opposition Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois Illinois lawyers Hamilton College (New York) alumni Yale College alumni 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers