John Kershaw (September 12, 1765August 4, 1829) 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

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. Born in Camden in the

Province of South Carolina Province of South Carolina, originally known as Clarendon Province, was a province of Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712 to 1776. It was one of the five Southern colonies and one of the thirteen American colonies. The monar ...

, Kershaw attended Rushworth School and Oxford College, England where he studied law. He was the son of Joseph Kershaw, one of the founders of Camden, SC. He married Harriet DuBose in 1812. They were the parents of Major General

Joseph Brevard Kershaw Joseph Brevard Kershaw (January 5, 1822 – April 13, 1894) was a prominent South Carolina planter and slaveholder. He was also a lawyer, judge, and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. Early life Kershaw was born on January 5, 182 ...

, a noted Confederate Army officer.

Early years

He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in

Camden, South Carolina Camden is the largest city and county seat of Kershaw County, South Carolina. The population was 7,764 in the 2020 census. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area. Camden is the oldest inland city in South C ...

. Kershaw engaged in planting and wheat milling and was a tobacco inspector in 1789. In 1790, he served as a member of the Constitutional Convention and served as Judge of the county court of Kershaw when it was first established in 1791.

Representative and Mayoral years

He served as member of the State House of Representatives from 1792 to 1794 and again from 1800 to 1801. He served as Mayor of Camden in 1798, 1801, 1811, and 1822. In 1806, Kershaw served as Justice of Quorum from Kershaw County. He also served as captain of the First South Carolina Light Dragoons.

US Congress

Kershaw was elected from South Carolina's 9th congressional district and served as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

representative to the Thirteenth Congress (March 4, 1813 – March 3, 1815). Kershaw served as chairman of the Committee on Accounts (Thirteenth Congress). He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1814 (to the Fourteenth Congress).

Death

He died in

, August 4, 1829 and was interred in the Kershaw family burial ground.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kershaw, John 1765 births 1829 deaths Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina