James Sykes (March 27, 1761 – October 18, 1822) was an American physician and politician from Dover, in

Kent County, Delaware Kent County is a County (United States), county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 181,851, making it the least populous county in Delaware. The county ...

. He was a member of the

Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a conservativeMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * and nationalist American political party and the first political party in the United States. It dominated the national government under Alexander Hamilton from 17 ...

, who served in the

Delaware General Assembly The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 representatives. It meets at Legi ...

and as

Governor of Delaware 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 ...

Early life and family

James Sykes was born near

Dover, Delaware Dover ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and the List of municipalities in Delaware, second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, Delaware, Kent County and the princ ...

, the son of

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

and Agnes Sykes. His father was a member of the

and a delegate to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

. James Jr. studied medicine under Dr.

Joshua Clayton Dr. Joshua Clayton (July 20, 1744 – August 11, 1798) was an American physician and politician from Mount Pleasant in Pencader Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware. He was an officer of the Continental Army in the American Revolution, and a m ...

and first practiced in

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, Maryland. While there he married Elizabeth Goldsborough, daughter of Judge Robert Goldsborough. After four years they returned to

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

living on The Green. They had three children; James, Anna Matilda, and William, and were members of Christ Episcopal Church. Their house is now an office building.

Professional and political career

In 1791 the

appointed Sykes to help manage a lottery to raise one thousand pounds to defray expenses incurred in constructing a new state house. After serving as clerk for the State House in 1796, he was elected to the State Senate in 1793. He served one term for the 1794, 1795, and 1796 sessions. Returning a year later, he served six more terms from the 1798 session through the 1812 session. He was Speaker in 1801, and then in every session from 1804 through 1812. He was also the Democratic-Republican nominee in all three of Delaware's U.S. Senate elections in 1798 and 1799., citing Journal of the Delaware House of Representatives, 1799. On February 20, 1801, Governor

Richard Bassett Richard Basset or Bassett may refer to: * Richard Basset (died between 1135 and 1144), royal judge and sheriff during the reign of King Henry I of England * Richard Basset, 1st Baron Basset of Weldon (died 1314), English noble * Richard Bassett ( ...

resigned following his appointment as U.S. Circuit Court Judge by

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

. As the Speaker of the State Senate, Sykes was next in line of succession and took office as governor. He chose not to run for election in his right, and returned to the State Senate on January 19, 1802. In the meantime, Sykes had become one of the state's most renowned surgeons. From his office at 45 The Green in Dover, he specialized in treating

gallstone A gallstone is a stone formed within the gallbladder from precipitated bile components. The term cholelithiasis may refer to the presence of gallstones or to any disease caused by gallstones, and choledocholithiasis refers to the presence of ...

s and yellow fever. In 1814 he moved his practice to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

for six years, but then returned to the Dover practice with his son, James. In 1822 he became President of the Delaware Medical Society.

Death and legacy

Sykes died at Dover and is buried there in the Christ Episcopal Church Cemetery. His son, James, was a physician in Dover and his son, William, was the father of Major General

George Sykes George Sykes (October 9, 1822 – February 8, 1880) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general during the American Civil War. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1842, and served in numerous conflicts, ...

, a commander at Gettysburg in 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 ...

Almanac

Elections were held the first Tuesday of October, and members of the General Assembly took office the first Tuesday of January. State senators had a three-year term. The governor took office the third Tuesday of January and had a three-year term. However, Sykes served as State President, only filling the vacancy caused by the resignation of

Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a statewide historical institution with several buildings, including Old Town Hall and the Delaware History M ...

website
505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161 *

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

Library website
181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831–2965

References

* * * * * *

External links

Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sykes, James 1761 births 1822 deaths People from Dover, Delaware American surgeons Delaware Federalists Delaware state senators Governors of Delaware Federalist Party state governors of the United States Physicians from Delaware People from colonial Delaware 19th-century American Episcopalians 19th-century members of the Delaware General Assembly Candidates in the 1798 United States elections Candidates in the 1799 United States elections