James Henry Duncan (December 5, 1793 – February 8, 1869) was a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from Massachusetts. Born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, to James Duncan and his wife, Rebecca White, Duncan attended Phillips Exeter Academy, and graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1812. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1815, commencing practice in Haverhill. He was an active militia officer, and attained the rank of colonel. He was president of the Essex Agricultural Society, and member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

in 1827, 1837, 1838, and again in 1857. He served in the

Massachusetts State Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

from 1828 to 1831, and was a delegate to the Whig National Convention at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1839. He was appointed Commissioner-in-Bankruptcy in 1841. He was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-first and Thirty-second Congresses (March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1853). Following his political career he was engaged in the real-estate business. He died of pneumonia on February 8, 1869, in Haverhill, aged 75, and was interred in Linwood Cemetery. His daughter, Margaret, married Stephen Henry Phillips on October 3, 1871. James H. Duncan is the namesake of Duncan, Illinois.

Personal life

James married Mary Willis on June 26, 1826, in Haverhill, Massachusetts. They had 13 children together, 8 daughters and 5 sons: Rebekah White (died in infancy), James Henry, Benjamin Willis (died in infancy), Rebekah White, Mary Willis, George (died in childhood), Susan Reynolds, Samuel White, Rosanna, Elizabeth, George Willis, Caroline and Margaret.

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* 1793 births 1869 deaths Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Harvard University alumni Massachusetts lawyers Massachusetts state senators Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Politicians from Haverhill, Massachusetts Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers {{Massachusetts-MARepresentative-stub