John Kershaw (American politician)

John Kershaw ( born September 12, 1765 in Camden, Kershaw County, South Carolina; † August 4, 1829 ) was an American politician. Between 1813 and 1815 he represented the state of South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Career

John Kershaw was the son of the founders of the city of Camden. He received a good education, and among other at the University of Oxford in England. After studying law and qualifying as a lawyer, he started in Camden to work in his new profession. There he also operated a plantation and a flour mill. In 1789, he also served as a tobacco inspector. In 1790 he was a member of a meeting on the revision of the Constitution of South Carolina; In 1791 he was district judge in Kershaw County.

Politically, Kershaw was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party of Thomas Jefferson. In the years 1792 to 1794 and again from 1800 to 1801 he was a member of the House of Representatives of South Carolina. Between 1798 and 1822 he served several times as mayor of Camden. Kershaw was also a captain in a dragoon unit of the state militia. In 1812 he was ninth in the newly created constituency of South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington DC selected. There he met on March 4, 1813 to his new mandate. Since he has not been confirmed at the next elections in 1814, he was able to complete up to March 3, 1815 only one term in Congress, which was shaped by the events of the British - American War. Kershaw led in Congress chair the Committee on Accounts.

After the end of his time in the House of Representatives, John Kershaw revitalized his plantation and his other private businesses. In 1822 he was again elected mayor of Camden. He died on August 4, 1829 and was buried in the family cemetery in Camden.