Lorenzo James (April 19, 1805 – September 19, 1888) was an American politician.
James was born in
Camden, South Carolina, April 19, 1805. His grandfather, John James, was a captain in
General Marion General Marion may refer to:
* Charles Stanislas Marion (1758–1812), First French Empire brigadier general
* Charles Marion (1887–1944), Vichy French general
* Francis Marion
Brigadier-General Francis Marion ( 1732 – February 27, ...
's command in the
American Revolution. His father, Samuel James, who had been a member of the
South Carolina legislature
The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The legislature is bicameral and consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and t ...
, emigrated to the neighborhood of
Jackson, in
Clarke County Clarke County may refer to:
;Places
*One of five counties in the United States:
**Clarke County, Alabama
**Clarke County, Georgia
**Clarke County, Iowa
**Clarke County, Mississippi
**Clarke County, Virginia
* Clarke County, New South Wales, in Aust ...
, south-western Alabama, in 1818, but soon died, leaving a numerous family to the care of his wife, who was a sister of Col. John Darrington, of South Carolina. He entered
Yale College in 1822 from a private school in
Jamaica, L. I., and graduated in 1825. Returning to Alabama, he married in 1827 Eliza, daughter of Gen.
John Scott John Scott may refer to:
Academics
* John Scott (1639–1695), English clergyman and devotional writer
* John Witherspoon Scott (1800–1892), American minister, college president, and father of First Lady Caroline Harrison
* John Work Scott (180 ...
, of
Montgomery, and settled on a plantation in the western part of
Montgomery County, afterwards embraced in the new county of
Lowndes. He was a successful planter, brought up a large family of children, and owned 103 slaves.
He represented the county in the
Alabama State Senate in 1835. Removing again to Clarke County, where his mother still resided, he represented that county in the
Alabama House of Representatives
The Alabama State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with each constituency contai ...
in 1849, and in the Senate in 1851. During the
American Civil War, he led a
vigilance committee
A vigilance committee was a group formed of private citizens to administer law and order or exercise power through violence in places where they considered governmental structures or actions inadequate. A form of vigilantism and often a more stru ...
which dealt out brutal violence to
Union supporters, and despite the Union's victory, continued to hold local political offices afterwards.
His large property, however, was destroyed by the results of the war. Northern friends who heard of his reverses advised his opening an office in Montgomery for the purchase of cotton on commission for their factories, and he did so with some success.
His wife died in 1872, and in 1875 he was again married to Margaret Briscoe, of
Georgetown, Ky., who survived him. His last years were spent in
Cincinnati, Ohio, and he died on September 19, 1888, in his 84th year, worn out with old age and infirmities, in
Petoskey, Mich. He had visited that place annually for several years, on account of
hay fever
Allergic rhinitis, of which the seasonal type is called hay fever, is a type of inflammation in the nose that occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air. Signs and symptoms include a runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, red, i ...
, from which he had long been a sufferer.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:james, lorenzo
1805 births
1888 deaths
People from Camden, South Carolina
Yale College alumni
Alabama state senators
Members of the Alabama House of Representatives
19th-century American planters
19th-century American legislators
American slave owners
19th-century Alabama politicians