John Myers Felder (July 7, 1782 – September 1, 1851) was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

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 ...

Biography

His grandfather was a native of

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, came to

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 = ...

about 1720, and was killed during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

while defending his house against an attack by Tories. The grandson was born in the vicinity of

Orangeburg, South Carolina Orangeburg, also known as ''The Garden City'', is the principal city in and the county seat of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population of the city was 13,964 according to the 2010 United States Census and declined to 12 ...

. He graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1804, a roommate and close friend of

John Caldwell Calhoun John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist from South Carolina who held many important positions including being the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. He ...

. After graduation, he studied at

Litchfield Law School The Litchfield Law School of Litchfield, Connecticut, was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietary school was unaffiliated with any college or university. (Whi ...

, and was admitted to the bar in 1808. He was elected to 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 ...

in 1812. In 1830, he was elected to the

United States House of Representatives 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

and served in Congress for four years, first as a Jacksonian and from 1833 as a Nullifier. After declining renomination in 1834, he went back to

, where the voters of Orangeburg returned him to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1840. He served there until his death on September 1, 1851. Felder retired from the legal profession in 1830, and became a prosperous mill owner and planter. He never married and had no children, although his sister Eliza has many descendants.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Felder, John Myers 1782 births 1851 deaths People from Orangeburg, South Carolina Nullifier Party politicians Nullifier Party members of the United States House of Representatives Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives Litchfield Law School alumni American lawyers Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina Yale University alumni 19th-century American politicians