Misplaced Pages

James Wilson II

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
American politician
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "James Wilson II" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
James Wilson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Hampshire's 3rd district
In office
March 4, 1847 – September 9, 1850
Preceded byNew Hampshire's At-large congressional district
Succeeded byGeorge W. Morrison
Speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
In office
1828–1829
Preceded byHenry Hubbard
Succeeded byJames B. Thornton
Member of the
New Hampshire House of Representatives
In office
1825–1837, 1840, 1846, 1871–1872
Personal details
BornMarch 18, 1797
Peterborough, New Hampshire, U.S.
DiedMay 29, 1881(1881-05-29) (aged 84)
Keene, New Hampshire, U.S.
Political partyWhig
SpouseMary Low Richardson
RelationsMary Elizabeth Wilson Sherwood
Children7

James Wilson II (March 18, 1797 – May 29, 1881) was a U.S. Representative from New Hampshire, son of James Wilson (1766–1839).

Early life and education

Born in Peterborough, New Hampshire, James Wilson II attended New Ipswich Academy and the academies at Atkinson and Exeter. He moved with his parents to Keene, New Hampshire, in 1815, and graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont in 1820.

Career

Wilson served as member of the New Hampshire State militia 1820-1840 and was successively promoted from captain to major general. A law student, he was admitted to the bar in 1823 and commenced practice in Keene. He served as member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives 1825–1837, 1840, and 1846, and served as Speaker in 1828. He was an unsuccessful candidate for governor in 1835 and 1838. He served as delegate to the Whig National Convention in 1840 and was Surveyor general of public lands in the Territories of Wisconsin and Iowa 1841–1845.

Wilson was elected as a Whig to the Thirtieth and Thirty-first Congresses and served from March 4, 1847, to September 9, 1850, when he resigned. Politically, he was considered a "lackey" of Daniel Webster.

He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Thirtieth Congress). He was appointed one of the land claim commissioners for California in 1851 and served in this capacity until 1853. He settled in San Francisco and remained there until 1867, when he returned to Keene, New Hampshire. He was again a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1871 and 1872.

Personal life and death

Wilson and his wife, Mary Low Wilson (née Richardson), had seven children. Their eldest daughter was Mary Elizabeth Sherwood.

He died in Keene, New Hampshire on May 29, 1881, aged 84, and was interred in Woodland Cemetery.

References

  1. "WILSON, James". Biographical Dictionary of the United States Congress. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  2. Holt, Michael F. (1999). The rise and fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian politics and the onset of the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 1074. ISBN 0-19-505544-6.

Bibliography

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded byNew Hampshire's At-large congressional district U.S. Representative for the 3rd District of New Hampshire
March 4, 1847 – September 9, 1850 		Succeeded byGeorge W. Morrison
Party political offices
Preceded byJoseph Healy Whig nominee for Governor of New Hampshire
1838, 1839 		Succeeded byEnos Stevens
Political offices
Preceded byHenry Hubbard Speaker of the
New Hampshire House of Representatives
1828–1829 		Succeeded byJames B. Thornton
Categories: