James Parsons (born 1724) was an American politician and attorney who served as the last

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

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 = ...

from June 27, 1777 to January 9, 1779. He was born in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and migrated to the British colony of South Carolina in 1750.

Personal life

James Parsons studied law Ireland before migrating to the British colony of

in 1750. In the Province of South Carolina, he worked as a lawyer and soon acquired wealth and prestige. Between 1752 and 1754 and again from 1760 to 1775 he sat in the colonial House of Representatives. In the early 1770s he joined the revolutionary movement, serving as a member of several assemblies and security committees supporting the independence movement. He was a colonel in the Revolutionary War. He also served in the first three terms of the state legislature of the new state of South Carolina.

Politics

In January 1775, Parsons was elected as a member of the South Carolina Committee of Public Safety by the

South Carolina Provincial Congress The Provincial Congresses were extra-legal legislative bodies established in ten of the Thirteen Colonies early in the American Revolution. Some were referred to as congresses while others used different terms for a similar type body. These bodies ...

, the goal of which was to establish how the colony should be independently governed after independence from Great Britain. He was later reelected to the position. In 1776, Parsons was elected as the first Speaker of the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seati ...

under the state's first constitution after declaring independence from the

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...

. Parsons held the position until October of the same year. On June 27, 1777, Parsons was elected the second vice president of South Carolina, succeeding

Henry Laurens Henry Laurens (December 8, 1792) was an American Founding Father, merchant, slave trader, and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Laure ...

after his resignation. Parsons held the position until the term expired January 9 of 1779. Parsons' successor,

Thomas Bee Thomas Bee (1739 – February 18, 1812) was a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. Educat ...

, was titled "Lieutenant Governor" instead of "Vice President." Parsons was reelected as lieutenant governor to a second term, but he refused the position citing health concerns. Parsons died nine months later in October of 1799.

References

{{reflist 1724 births South Carolina politicians