Amaziah B. James

Amaziah Bailey James ( born July 1, 1812 in Stephentown, New York, † July 6, 1883 in Ogdensburg, New York) was an American lawyer and politician. Between 1877 and 1881 he represented the State of New York in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Career

Amaziah Bailey James was born about two weeks after the outbreak of the British - American War in Stephentown in Rensselaer County. He and his father moved in 1814 after Sweden in Monroe County. In the following years he pursued an academic career. At the age of 14 he began an apprenticeship as a printer in Batavia. In 1831 he moved to Ogdensburg in St. Lawrence County, where he founded the Northern Light, a weekly newspaper. Later he became a partner of the Times and Advertiser, the Whig newspaper in the county. In 1836 he served as a Captain in the Ogdensburg artillery. James was promoted to major general in the militia. He studied law. After receiving his license to practice law in 1848 he began to practice in Ogdensburg. In 1853 he was elected Judge of the New York Supreme Court James was re-elected in 1861 and 1869. He held the post until 1876. During his time as a judge he took in 1861 at the Peace Convention in Washington DC in part, in an effort to develop ways to prevent the impending civil war. Politically, he was a member of the Republican Party.

In the congressional elections of 1876 for the 45th Congress James was in the 19th electoral district of New York in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington DC chosen, where he became the successor of William A. Wheeler on March 4, 1877. He was re-elected once and retired after the March 3, 1881 from the Congress of. During this time he suffered from paralysis, from which he only partially recovered.

He died on July 6, 1883 in Ogdensburg, and was then buried in the town cemetery.