James Graham Clinton (January 2, 1804 – May 28, 1849) was an American lawyer and politician. He 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 New York from 1841 to 1845.

Early life

Born in

Little Britain, New York Little Britain is an area in the town of New Windsor, New York, New Windsor, Orange County, New York, United States, south of and adjacent to Stewart International Airport. The name spread to the surrounding region, which at that time was part of U ...

, on January 2, 1804, he was the son of Mary Little (1768–1835) and Major-General James Clinton (1736–1812), a brevet major general in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. He was the half brother of

DeWitt Clinton DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769February 11, 1828) was an American politician and Naturalism (philosophy), naturalist. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the sixth governor of New York. ...

(1769–1828), the 6th

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...

, and George Clinton, Jr. (1771–1809), a

, through his father's first marriage to Mary De Witt (1737–1795). His uncle was George Clinton (1739–1812), who served as the 1st and 3rd Governor of New York from 1777 to 1795 and the

U.S. Vice President The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. Th ...

from 1805 to 1812. His grandfather was Col. Charles Clinton (1690–1773), an Anglo-Irish colonel during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

. Clinton attended the common schools and Newburgh Academy. He studied law, 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 1823 and practiced in

Newburgh Newburgh (''"new"'' + the English/Scots word ''"burgh"'') may refer to: Places Scotland *Newburgh, Fife, a former royal burgh *Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, a village England *Newburgh, Lancashire, a village * Newburgh, North Yorkshire, a village ...

Career

Clinton served as Orange County Master in

Chancery Chancery may refer to: Offices and administration * Court of Chancery, the chief court of equity in England and Wales until 1873 ** Equity (law), also called chancery, the body of jurisprudence originating in the Court of Chancery ** Courts of e ...

, and

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

of the county court of common pleas. He served as director of the Newburgh Whaling Company and of the

Delaware and Hudson Railway The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) is a railroad that operates in the Northeastern United States. In 1991, after more than 150 years as an independent railroad, the D&H was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP, which would it ...

. Clinton was also a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the

New York Militia The New York Guard (NYG) is the State Defense Force (SDF) of New York State, and is one of the four branches of the New York Military Forces (NYMF), the other three branches being the New York Army National Guard, New York Air National Guard a ...

. Clinton was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the Twenty-seventh and Twenty-eighth Congresses (March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1845). He served as chairman of the Committee on Public Expenditures (Twenty-eighth Congress). He was not a candidate for reelection in 1844, and resumed practicing law.

Death and burial

Clinton died in New York City on May 28, 1849, at the age of 45. He was interred in the family cemetery at Little Britain, and reinterred at Woodlawn Cemetery in New Windsor.

References

Notes Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clinton, James Graham 1804 births 1849 deaths American people of English descent People from New Windsor, New York New York (state) lawyers American militia officers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Politicians from Newburgh, New York Clinton family (New York) 19th-century New York state court judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century New York (state) politicians 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives