James Stoddard Boynton (May 7, 1833December 22, 1902) was an American politician and jurist.

Early life

Boynton was born in

Henry County, Georgia Henry County is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2020 census, the population of Henry County was 240,712, up from 203,922 in 2010. The county seat is McDonough. The county was named for Patric ...

on May 7, 1833. His parents were of modest wealth. His father, Elijah S. Boynton, was born in Vermont and came to Georgia as a young man. His mother, Elizabeth (Moffet) Boynton, was from a South Carolina family of French ancestry. James S. Boynton was raised on his parents' farm in Henry County, GA which was worked with the labor of enslaved African American people. James was educated in the local country schools which convened a few months of the year after the harvest. As a youth he was inspired by tales of military exploits in the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

. At the age of 16 he entered preparatory school with the ambition of seeking an appointment to the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

. When his father died in 1849, he inherited 100 acres of land and one enslaved person. Still intent on attending West Point, he chose a guardian with means and willingness to assist him. But when this guardian died in 1851 he was forced to revise his plans and seek attendance at the

Georgia Military Institute The Georgia Military Institute (GMI) was established on in Marietta, Georgia, United States, on July 1, 1851. It was burned by the Union Army during the American Civil War, Civil War and was never rebuilt. The current GMI is a reactivation of th ...

Marietta, GA Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Mari ...

. With the consent of his second guardian, he sold his land to raise the cost of attendance. But finding the amount would be insufficient to sustain him to graduation, he gave up his ambition for a military career. Instead, he moved to Cave Spring, GA to ente
Hearn Manual Labor School
which he attended until his funds were exhausted.

Professional Life

Having exhausted his resources, Boynton returned to

McDonough, GA McDonough is a city in Henry County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. Its population was 29,051 in 2020. The city is the county seat of Henry County. The unincorporated communities of Blacksville, Flippen, ...

where he accepted an offer to study law under Col. Leonard Thompson Doyal, then one of the most distinguished attorneys in Henry County, GA. After just seven weeks of study his mastery of law was sufficient that he was admitted to the bar at the October 1852 term of the Superior Court of Henry County, Judge James H. Stark presiding. Boynton opened a law office in

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary residence and plantation of Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father, author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third president of the United States. Jefferson began designing Monticello after inheriting l ...

, Jasper County, GA on November 15, 1852. He was 19 years of age. After six years of successful practice in Jasper County, Boynton relocated to Jackson, GA in Butts County where he entered into a successful law partnership with Col. James R. Lyons. In 1860, Boynton was elected Ordinary of Butts County, GA. He was opposed to

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

, and as an elected official, could have claimed exemption from military service during the Civil War. However, he enlisted in the Confederate States Army and served until wounded in 1864. In 1863, Boynton moved his family to

Griffin, GA Griffin is a city in and the county seat of Spalding County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 23,478. Griffin was founded in 1840 and named for landowner ...

where after the war he resumed the practice of law. In 1866, he was elected county judge and presided until the court was abolished during

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

. He served three years as mayor of Griffin and his law practice flourished. He served in elected offices from 1880 to 1893 when he returned to the practice of law. He served as division counsel for the

Central Railroad of Georgia Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center (disambiguation), center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa ...

Civil War

Boynton fought in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, serving as a private with the 30th Georgia Infantry. He was wounded in the

Battle of Atlanta The Battle of Atlanta took place during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply hub of Atlanta, Union forces ...

, and achieved the rank of colonel by the end of the war. After the war, Boynton returned to Griffin, GA in 1865.

Political life

Boynton briefly served as the 51st

governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...

from 1883 after the death of Governor

Alexander Stephens Alexander Hamilton Stephens (February 11, 1812 – March 4, 1883) was an American politician who served as the first and only vice president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865, and later as the 50th governor of Georgia from 1882 unti ...

. At the time of Stephens death, Boynton was serving as the president of the

Georgia Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The Georgia State Senate and the lower house of the General Assembly, the Georgia House of Representatives, comprise the bicameral leg ...

so he assumed the governorship. His additional political service included the office of Mayor of

Griffin, Georgia Griffin is a city in and the county seat of Spalding County, Georgia, Spalding County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a po ...

. Boynton also served as a judge in the

Spalding County, Georgia Spalding County is a County (United States), county in the West Central Georgia, West Central region of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 67,306. The county s ...

Court and the Flint Circuit Superior Court.

Death and legacy

He died at his home in Griffin in 1902 and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in that same city. A street in

Chickamauga, Georgia Chickamauga is a city in Walker County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,917 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Before the 1800s, the Chickamauga Cherokee settled aro ...

is named for him.

References

External links

Georgia State Archives Roster of State Governors
* 1833 births 1902 deaths People from Henry County, Georgia Democratic Party governors of Georgia (U.S. state) Democratic Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives Mayors of Griffin, Georgia 19th-century Georgia (U.S. state) politicians {{GeorgiaUS-mayor-stub