David Goodrich James (August 3, 1843October 3, 1921) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

businessman, tinner and

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

veteran from

Richland Center, Wisconsin Richland Center is a city in Richland County, Wisconsin, United States that also serves as the county seat. The population was 5,114 at the 2020 census. History Richland Center was founded in 1851 by Ira Sherwin Hazeltine, a native of Andover, V ...

. He represented the 28th district of the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

for four years (1909–1913) as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, and served as a

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

volunteer during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. His brother Norman L. James represented the same district in the Wisconsin Senate.

Background

James was born in

Deerfield, New Hampshire Deerfield is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,855 at the 2020 census, up from 4,280 at the 2010 census. Deerfield is the location of the annual Deerfield Fair. History Deerfield was originally pa ...

, on August 3, 1848, moving with his family to Richland County (where he would live the rest of his life) in 1815.

Civil War service

At the outbreak of the Civil War, James enlisted for service in the

, along with his older brother Norman L. James and several classmates from school. They were enrolled in Company F of the 16th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment in October 1861. The 16th Wisconsin Infantry mustered into federal service in January 1862 and headed for

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, in March, for service in the western theater of the war. They arrived at

Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee Pittsburg Landing is a river landing on the west bank of the Tennessee River in Hardin County, Tennessee. It was named for "Pitts" Tucker who operated a tavern at the site in the years preceding the Civil War. It is located at latitude 35.15222 ...

, on March 20, 1862, and were assigned to the left wing of Grant's army. On April 6, 1862, they fought in the Battle of Shiloh, where the regiment suffered significant casualties. They subsequently participated in several of the battles of northern Mississippi associated with the

Vicksburg campaign The Vicksburg campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi Ri ...

, and joined the Atlanta campaign in 1864. During the

Battle of Atlanta The Battle of Atlanta was a battle of the Atlanta Campaign fought during the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply hub of Atlanta, Un ...

, on July 22, 1864, James was captured by Confederate forces and spent several months in Andersonville Prison. James survived his time in Andersonville and mustered out with his regiment in July 1865. After the war, he received an honorary brevet to the rank of captain, back-dated to October 3, 1862, the day of the

Second Battle of Corinth The second Battle of Corinth (which, in the context of the American Civil War, is usually referred to as the Battle of Corinth, to differentiate it from the siege of Corinth earlier the same year) was fought October 3–4, 1862, in Corinth, ...

. The citation read: "for conspicuous bravery manifested by him at the battles of

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government refor ...

and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

After the war

After the War James returned to Richland Center, where he learned the tinner's trade, and in 1866 became a member of the firm of G. H. & N. L. James with his brother Norman. He became

sole proprietor A sole proprietorship, also known as a sole tradership, individual entrepreneurship or proprietorship, is a type of enterprise owned and run by one person and in which there is no legal distinction between the owner and the business entity. A sole ...

in 1881. In 1888 he was a

delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (Unit ...

to the Republican National Convention. In 1900 he was made Wisconsin Department Commander of the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

. He served as a trustee of the Wisconsin Soldiers' Home for many years. He was elected state senator in 1908 for a four-year term (succeeding fellow Republican Oliver Munson), receiving 6,358 votes against 3,360 for

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 ...

J. K. Schreiner. He was assigned to the

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

s on

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

, on

military affairs ''The Journal of Military History'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering the military history of all times and places. It is the official journal of the Society for Military History. The journal was established in 1937 and the ed ...

, and on villages and cities. A 1911 redistricting totally changed the Senate; his old district was split between the new

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...

and 31st districts, each of which elected Republicans in 1912.

Family

James' wife Laura, in 1882, was one of the founders of the Richland Center Woman's Club that worked tirelessly for women's suffrage, and may have been the first suffrage organization formed in the state. In 1892, their daughter Ada James and several other high school girls formed the Equality Club to assist in the campaign for

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

. Ada was to become one of Wisconsin's most prominent

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

s; in 1911, she was a founding member of the statewide Political Equality League, and would become its president. In 1919, Wisconsin became the first state officially to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, granting women the vote. Wisconsin won this distinction because David James traveled to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...

and hand-delivered the documents to just nose out Illinois for this honor. David G. James died in Richland Center on October 3, 1921.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Senate (1908)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 3, 1908

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, David G. 1843 births 1921 deaths American Civil War prisoners of war American suffragists Businesspeople from Wisconsin Male feminists People from Deerfield, New Hampshire People from Richland Center, Wisconsin People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War Union Army officers Republican Party Wisconsin state senators 19th-century American businesspeople Activists from New Hampshire Grand Army of the Republic officials