James Ervin (October 17, 1778 – July 7, 1841) was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

from 1817 to 1821.

Early life

Born in Williamsburg District, Ervin was graduated from Rhode Island College (now

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

), in 1797. He studied law and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1800. He commenced practice in the

Pee Dee The Pee Dee is a region in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It lies along the lower watershed of the Pee Dee River, which was named after the Pee Dee, an Indigenous tribe historically inhabiting the region. History The ...

Career

He served as member of the State house of representatives from 1800 to 1804 and from 1810 to 1811. He then served as solicitor of the northern judicial circuit 1804–1816. He was a trustee of

South Carolina College The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Carolina System and th ...

from 1809 to 1817.

Congress

Ervin was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed l ...

to the

Fifteenth In music, a fifteenth or double octave, abbreviated ''15ma'', is the interval between one musical note and another with one-quarter the wavelength or quadruple the frequency. It has also been referred to as the bisdiapason. The fourth harmonic, ...

Congress and reelected to the Sixteenth Congress (March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1821). He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1820.

Later career and death

After his tenure in Congress, he engaged in agricultural pursuits. He later served as member of the

State senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

from 1826 to 1829. He was a delegate to the State convention in 1832. He died in

Darlington, South Carolina Darlington is a city located in Darlington County, South Carolina, United States. In 2010, its population was 6,289. It is the county seat of Darlington County. It is part of the Florence, South Carolina metropolitan area. Darlington is known f ...

, July 7, 1841 and was interred at his home.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ervin, James 1778 births 1841 deaths Brown University alumni Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly