James B. 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 primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. He was based in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

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 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, 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 to 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, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...

, 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 * Second E ...

and

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

. All three brothers became politicians: John Findlay served in the

U.S. House of Representatives 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 Pennsylvania, and William Findlay served two separate periods as governor of Pennsylvania.

Career

After 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 part of the unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolution. Established ...

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 in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the United States federal judi ...

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 a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

, attaining the rank of brigadier general. In 1806 and 1807, Findlay helped to quash the

Burr conspiracy The Burr conspiracy of 1805-1807, was a treasonous plot alleged to have been planned by American politician and former military officer Aaron Burr (1756-1836), in the years during and after his single term as the third Vice President of the Unite ...

. 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. He marched north with General

William Hull William Hull (June 24, 1753 – November 29, 1825) was an American military officer and politician. A veteran of the American Revolutionary War, he later served as governor of the Michigan Territory (1805–1813), where he negotiated land cessi ...

. He opposed Hull's disastrous decision to surrender Detroit. Afterward Findlay was promoted to major general in the Ohio militia, and built Fort Findlay in 1812, which was named for him. Present-day

Findlay, Ohio Findlay ( ) is a city in Hancock County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The second-largest city in Northwest Ohio, Findlay lies about 40 miles (64 km) south of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo. Its population was 40,313 at the 2020 United Sta ...

developed around it. Findlay was elected in 1824 to represent

Ohio's 1st congressional district Ohio's 1st congressional district is represented by Democratic Party (United States), Democrat Greg Landsman. The district includes the city of Cincinnati, all of Warren County, Ohio, Warren County and borders the state of Kentucky. This distr ...

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 Events January–March * January 6 – Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison founds the New-England Anti-Slavery Society. * January 13 – The Christmas Rebellion of slaves is brought to an end in Jamaica, after the island's white pla ...

. 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 which 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, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

in 1834. He died in Cincinnati in 1835 and was buried at

Spring Grove Cemetery Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is a nonprofit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. At a size of 733 acres (2.97 km2), it is the third largest cemetery in the United States, after the Calverto ...

in Cincinnati.

Legacy

Fort Findlay was named for him, as he had directed its construction.

Findlay Market Findlay Market in historic Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati, Ohio, is the state's oldest continuously operated public market. The Findlay Market Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on June 5, 1972. The market is the ...

and the adjacent Findlay Street are built on land donated to Cincinnati by the estate of General Findlay and his wife Jane Irwin Findlay.

References

Retrieved on 2010-01-01 *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

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Findlay, James 1770 births 1835 deaths 19th-century American merchants American militia generals Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Law enforcement officials from Ohio Mayors of Cincinnati Members of the Ohio House of Representatives Members of the 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 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives