James Findlay (October 12, 1770December 28, 1835) was an American merchant, politician and veteran of the War of 1812, having served with both the state militia and the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

. He was based in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

after migrating there as a young man. He was elected as mayor of Cincinnati to two non-successive terms. For defenses in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

, he supervised construction of Fort Findlay, which was named for him. In 1824. he was elected to multiple terms in the US House of Representatives, serving from 1825-1833.

Early life

Findlay was born in Mercersburg in the

Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to Wi ...

, to Samuel Findlay and Jane Smith. He had two older brothers,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

and

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. All three brothers became politicians: John Findlay served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, and William Findlay served two separate periods as governor of Pennsylvania.

Career

fter their father suffered financial setbacks, Findlay moved to the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...

in 1793 with his wife Jane Irwin (1769–1851). There, in partnership with John Smith, he soon became a leading merchant and influential in the young city of

. He was elected to the legislature of the

in 1798. In 1802, he was appointed as the

United States Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforcem ...

for the Northwest Territory. In 1800, Findlay was appointed as receiver of public money at the Cincinnati Public Land Office, as settlers arrived in the Northwest Territory seeking land. As such, he was the region's most visible federal official and a central figure in the business and politics of Cincinnati. After statehood, he was elected in 1804 as mayor of Cincinnati, serving into 1806. He was re-elected in 1810, serving through 1811. Findlay participated in the Ohio state

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, attaining the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

. In 1806 and 1807, Findlay helped to quash the Burr conspiracy. That required him to confront his partner Smith, an alleged conspirator. In the

, Findlay was commissioned as a colonel in the

, and commanded the

2nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry The 2nd Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Three-months regiment With the outbreak of the Civil War in the spring of 1861, President Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers from eac ...

. He marched north with General

William Hull William Hull (June 24, 1753 – November 29, 1825) was an American soldier and politician. He fought in the American Revolutionary War and was appointed as Governor of Michigan Territory (1805–13), gaining large land cessions from several Am ...

. He opposed Hull's disastrous decision to surrender Detroit. Afterward Findlay was promoted to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

in the Ohio militia, and built Fort Findlay in 1812, which was named for him. Present-day Findlay, Ohio developed around it. Findlay was elected in 1824 to represent

Ohio's 1st congressional district Ohio's 1st congressional district is represented by Republican Steve Chabot. This district includes the western four-fifths of Cincinnati, and borders both Kentucky and Indiana. This district was once represented by President William Henry Ha ...

in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Congresses. He was next elected as a Jacksonian Democrat to the Twenty-first and Twenty-second Congresses, serving in total from March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1833. Findlay eventually broke with the Jackson Democrats. He was defeated for reelection to the House in 1832. As an

Anti-Jacksonian The National Republican Party, also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party or simply Republicans, was a political party in the United States that evolved from a conservative-leaning faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that supported John ...

, he lost a bid for

Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

in 1834. He died in Cincinnati in 1835 and was buried at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati.

Legacy

*Fort Findlay was named for him, as he had directed its construction. *The Findlay Market, is built on land donated to Cincinnati by the estate of General Findlay and his wife Jane Irwin Findlay.

References

*Andrew Cayton. "Findlay, James."

American National Biography Online The ''American National Biography'' (ANB) is a 24-volume biographical encyclopedia set that contains about 17,400 entries and 20 million words, first published in 1999 by Oxford University Press under the auspices of the American Council of Lea ...

, February 2000.
The Political Graveyard
Retrieved on 2010-01-01

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Findlay, James 1770 births 1835 deaths 19th-century American politicians American militia generals Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Mayors of Cincinnati Members of the Ohio House of Representatives Northwest Territory House of Representatives Ohio National Republicans People from Mercersburg, Pennsylvania United States Army colonels United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 United States Marshals