James Graham Ramsay (March 1, 1823 – January 10, 1903) was a

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

physician and politician who served in the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The Senate ...

and

Confederate States Congress The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly/legislature of the Confederate States of America that existed from February 1861 to April/June 1865, during the American Civil War. Its actions were, ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Biography

Ramsay was born on his parents' (David Ramsay and Margaret Foster (Graham) Ramsay) plantation in the Coddle Creek area of

Iredell County, North Carolina Iredell County ( )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carolina Co ...

. He received an education from local schools and then attended

Davidson College Davidson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina, United States. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after American Revolutiona ...

, where he graduated in 1841. After teaching for a year and studying privately for medical school, he attended Thomas Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia where he graduated with a medical degree in 1848. He opened a medical practice on his estate, Palermo, near the town of

Cleveland, North Carolina Cleveland is a town in the Cleveland Township of Rowan County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 871 at the 2010 census. History The town dates from 1831 but was not incorporated until 1833. The first post office in Clevelan ...

, where he practiced for 51 years. In 1849, he was elected the first president of the Rowan County medical society, which he helped form. He owned a small farm and had slaves before the U.S. Civil War. He lived in Scotch Irish Township until 1900 when he was living with his son, James Hill Ramsay, in

Salisbury, North Carolina Salisbury ( ) is a city in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region of North Carolina, United States; it has been the county seat of Rowan County, North Carolina, Rowan County since 1753 when its territory extended to the Mississippi River. ...

. He died in Salisbury. He is buried in the Third Creek Presbyterian Church cemetery near

. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1983. He married Sarah Jane Foster on September 23, 1846 in Mocksville, Davie County, North Carolina. James and Sarah had eight children: Margaret Foster (Ramsay) Nelson, Florence May Ramsay, David Allen Ramsay, James Hill Ramsay, Edgar Burton Ramsay, William G. Ramsay, Robert L. Ramsay, and Claudius Clinton.

Political career

He served in the

from 1856 to 1864 and again in 1883. He represented the state in the

Second Confederate Congress The 2nd Confederate States Congress, consisting of the Confederate States Senate and the Confederate States House of Representatives, met from May 2, 1864, to March 18, 1865, during the last year of Jefferson Davis's presidency, at the Virginia ...

. He was a member of Whig party. He was a member of the Medical Department and Naval Affairs committees in the Confederate Congress of North Carolina. He supported state and individual rights over the needs of the Confederate war efforts while serving in the Senate. He voted in favor of a convention to return North Carolina to the Union by April 1865. After the War, he became a Republican and was a Presidential elector in 1872. He lost two races for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

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 ...

—in 1865 (losing to Samuel H. Walkup, who was not seated by the House) and in 1884 (losing to

John S. Henderson John Steele Henderson (January 6, 1846 – October 9, 1916) was a Representative for North Carolina in the United States House of Representatives. Biography Born near Salisbury, Rowan County, North Carolina in 1846, the son of Archibald and ...

References

* * * * * * ortrait. * Ezra Warner and Buck Yearns, Biographical Register of the Confederate Congress (1975). *

External links

The Political Graveyard

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsay, James 1823 births 1903 deaths North Carolina state senators Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from North Carolina People from Iredell County, North Carolina People from Rowan County, North Carolina 19th-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly