James Smith Havens (May 28, 1859 – February 27, 1927) was an American lawyer and politician who served part of one term as 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

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

from April 1910 to March 1911, having been elected to fill a mid-term vacancy.

Biography

Born in

Weedsport, New York Weedsport is a village in Cayuga County, New York, United States. The population was 1,815 at the 2010 census. The name is from Elihu and Edward Weed, merchants who helped found the village. Weedsport is in the town of Brutus, west of Syracuse. ...

. He attended the public schools and Munro Collegiate Institute,

Elbridge, New York Elbridge is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the town was approximately 5,922. The town is named after Elbridge Gerry, the fifth Vice President of the United States, and one of th ...

and graduated from

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, ...

in 1884. He moved to

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

the same year and studied law. 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 1887 and commenced practice in Rochester.

Family

He was the father of noted artist

James D. Havens James Dexter Havens (1900–1960) was a printmaker and painter in Rochester, New York, who is considered part of the color woodblock printing, woodblock revival in America.Watrous, James: "The American Color Woodcuts: Bounty from the Block, 1890s-1 ...

. He learned of research being done by Banting and Best in Canada, and his son Jim became the first American to use

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism o ...

Political career

He was a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

in 1904. He was elected 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 Sixty-first Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

James B. Perkins James Breck Perkins (November 4, 1847 – March 11, 1910) was an Americans, American historian, a United States congressman, and a writer. He was born in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, and graduated from the University of Rochester, where he was ...

(April 19, 1910 – March 3, 1911). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1910.

Later career and death

Havens resumed the practice of his profession in Rochester. He declined the Democratic nomination for mayor of Rochester in 1913. He was vice president and secretary of the

Eastman Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

Company, and head of its legal department from 1919 until his death and interment in Mount Hope Cemetery in 1927.

References

* *New York Times
James S. Havens, Noted Lawyer, Dies
February 28, 1927 {{DEFAULTSORT:Havens, James 1859 births 1927 deaths Yale College alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Kodak people Politicians from Rochester, New York People from Weedsport, New York Lawyers from Rochester, New York 19th-century American lawyers