James Monroe Jackson (December 3, 1825 – February 14, 1901) was a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and Democratic

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

who served as a

United States 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 ...

in the

51st United States Congress The 51st United States Congress, referred to by some critics as the Billion Dollar Congress, was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Rep ...

Early and family life

Jackson was born in

Parkersburg Parkersburg is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state's fourth-largest city and the largest city in the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna metro ...

in Wood County, Virginia (now West Virginia). His grandfather John G. Jackson had served in the U.S. House of Representatives as well as a U.S. District Judge, and earlier as a Brigadier General in the Virginia militia. His father was also (Virginia militia) General John Jay Jackson. His brothers became Federal Judge

John Jay Jackson, Jr. John Jay Jackson Jr. (August 4, 1824 – September 2, 1907) was an American lawyer, Whig politician, United States District Judge (initially of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia) and, later, the first judge of ...

and Circuit Judge and West Virginia Governor

Jacob B. Jackson Jacob Beeson Jackson (April 6, 1829December 11, 1893) was the sixth Governor of West Virginia from 1881 to 1885. In 1855, he married Maria Willard."West Virginia's First Ladies," West Virginia Division of Culture and History, June 2007. In h ...

Career

He graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1845. After studying 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 1847. He opened his practice in Parkersburg. He won election as

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...

for Wood County in 1856 and 1860. He served as a member of the

West Virginia House of Delegates The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates. Organization Regular sessions begin with ...

in 1870 and 1871. He was a member of the State constitutional convention in 1872. He served as a judge on the fifth circuit court from 1873 to 1888, when he resigned after thinking he was elected to the U.S. Congress in a very close race with

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Charles Brooks Smith Charles Brooks Smith (February 24, 1844 – December 7, 1899) was a Union Army veteran, businessman and Republican politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for a single term from West Virginia's 4th congressional distric ...

. Although Jackson presented credentials as a Democratic Member-elect to the Fifty-first Congress and served from March 4, 1889, until February 3, 1890, Smith, successfully contested the election and served the final year of the term before being defeated for re-election by Democrat James Capehart. West Virginia legislators then elected Jackson as a judge on the criminal court for Wood County, where he served from 1891 until his death.

Death and legacy

Jackson died in Parkersburg, West Virginia on February 14, 1901. He was buried at Riverview Cemetery. The

Jackson Memorial Fountain Jackson Memorial Fountain is a historic fountain located at the entrance to City Park at Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia. It was built in 1905 and is a cast iron structure that originally had three tiers. The second tier is topped by Parke ...

at Parkersburg is dedicated to the Jackson family.

Sources

Online. September 11, 2007.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, James M. 1825 births 1901 deaths County and city Commonwealth's Attorneys in Virginia Jackson family of West Virginia Democratic Party members of the West Virginia House of Delegates Politicians from Parkersburg, West Virginia Princeton University alumni Virginia lawyers West Virginia circuit court judges West Virginia lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from West Virginia 19th-century American politicians

Early and family life

Career

Death and legacy

See also

Sources

External links