James Phelan Sr. (October 11, 1821 – May 17, 1873) was a senator in the

Confederate Congress The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned with measures to establish a new nat ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

from the state of

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...

Biography

He was born in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

to John Phelan and Priscilla Oakes (Ford) Morris, a niece of Sir Richard Oakes of Scotland. They married on 8 June 1807. His father John Phelan was a native of Marysbourough,

Queen's County, Ireland County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a ...

. John Phelan was the grand-nephew of James Phelan,

Bishop of Ossory The Bishop of Ossory () is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Province of Leinster, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been ...

(d. 1695). John Phelan married Mary Sluigan, of Cloncons Castle, King's County, and came to the United States in 1793, at the age of twenty-four. He settled first in

New York city New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, and afterwards moved to

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

, where he was cashier of the

Bank of New Brunswick The Bank of New Brunswick, established in 1820, was the first Canadian bank to operate under a charter. The bank operated independently in New Brunswick and later in Prince Edward Island until it merged with the Bank of Nova Scotia (now Scotiabank) ...

, moving to Huntsville, Alabama in 1818.''Robert Early Phelan'' entry at Encyclopedia of American biography: New series, Volume 22, American Historical Society, 1959 James Phelan was apprenticed as a printer to the ''Democrat'' at fourteen years of age, subsequently edited the ''Flag of the Union'', a Democratic organ, and became state

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James ...

in 1843. He was admitted to the bar in 1846, moved to

in 1849, and settled in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

, where he soon established a large practice. He became a member of the

Mississippi State Senate The Mississippi Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, convenes at the Mississippi State Capitol ...

in 1860, then was elected as a Senator from Mississippi in the

First Confederate Congress The 1st Confederate States Congress, consisting of the Confederate States Senate and the Confederate States House of Representatives, met from February 18, 1862, to February 17, 1864, during the first two years of Jefferson Davis's presidency, ...

1862–64. In 1863, he introduced what was called the "Crucial bill of the Confederacy," which was a proposition to confiscate all the

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor p ...

in the South, paying for it in Confederate bonds, and using it as a basis for a foreign loan. The bill passed the house, but was defeated in the senate, and created so much indignation among the planters that Phelan was burned in effigy, and defeated in the next election. After 1864, Phelan served as

judge advocate Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions. Australia The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that provi ...

till the end of the war, when he settled in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 Uni ...

, and practised law in a firm formed with

Henry T. Ellett Henry Thomas Ellett (March 8, 1812 – October 15, 1887) was a lawyer, politician, judge, and U.S. Representative from Mississippi. Biography Born in Salem, New Jersey, Ellett attended the Latin School in Salem and Princeton College, where h ...

in that city until his death. He was interred in

Aberdeen, Mississippi Aberdeen is the county seat of Monroe County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,612. Located on the banks of the Tombigbee River, Aberdeen was one of the busiest Mississippi ports of the 19th century. Cotton ...

, following his death at the age of 51.

Personal life

His brother,

John Dennis Phelan John Dennis Phelan (March 23, 1809 – September 9, 1879) was an American editor, politician and jurist. Early life Phelan was born on March 23, 1809, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He was the son of John Phelan (d. 1850), an Irish immigrant, a ...

, was a noted lawyer, jurist and politician. His son

James Phelan Jr. James Phelan Jr. (December 7, 1856 – January 30, 1891) was a nineteenth-century lawyer and politician from Tennessee. He served as a United States Congressman from Tennessee, representing the tenth district. Biography Phelan was born in Abe ...

became a congressman.

Notes

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Phelan, James Sr. 1821 births 1873 deaths American editors American jurists American printers Confederate States of America senators 19th-century American politicians Mississippi state senators Politicians from Huntsville, Alabama People of Mississippi in the American Civil War 19th-century American businesspeople Southern Historical Society