Samuel Jameson Gholson (May 19, 1808 – October 16, 1883) was a

United States representative 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 ...

from

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi The United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi (in case citations, N.D. Miss.) is a federal court in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Fifth Circuit with facilities in Aberdeen, Mississippi, Aber ...

and the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi The United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi (in case citations, S.D. Miss.) is a federal court in the Fifth Circuit with facilities in Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Natchez, and Jackson. Appeals from cases brought in t ...

and a General in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

Education and career

Born on May 19, 1808, near

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

in Madison County,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, Gholson moved with his father to Franklin County,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

and attended the common schools. He

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

and was admitted to the bar at Russellville, Alabama in 1829. He entered private practice in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Monroe County,

from 1830 to 1839. He was a member of the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected for ...

from 1835 to 1836, and in 1839.

Congressional service

Gholson was elected as a

Jacksonian Democrat Jacksonian democracy, also known as Jacksonianism, was a 19th-century political ideology in the United States that restructured a number of federal institutions. Originating with the seventh U.S. president, Andrew Jackson and his supporters, i ...

(now

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 ...

) from Mississippi's at-large congressional district to 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 ...

of the

24th United States Congress The 24th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 183 ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

United States Representative 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 ...

David Dickson and served from December 1, 1836, to March 3, 1837. He presented credentials as a Democratic member-elect to the

25th United States Congress The 25th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 18 ...

and served from July 18, 1837, until February 5, 1838, when the seat was declared vacant.

Federal judicial service

Gholson was nominated by President

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as Attorney General o ...

on February 9, 1839, to a joint seat on the

and the

vacated by Judge George Adams. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on February 13, 1839, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on January 10, 1861, due to his resignation upon the secession of Mississippi from the Union. Gholson was a member of the Mississippi secession convention in 1861.

Other service

Concurrent with his federal judicial service, Gholson served in the Mississippi State Militia as a lieutenant in 1846.

Later career and death

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 ...

, Gholson served in the

as a private, captain, colonel, and brigadier general, and as a major general of Mississippi state troops. Gholson initially enlisted as a private, taking part in the battles of

Fort Donelson Fort Donelson was a fortress built early in 1862 by the Confederacy during the American Civil War to control the Cumberland River, which led to the heart of Tennessee, and thereby the Confederacy. The fort was named after Confederate general Da ...

, Iuka, and

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

in 1862. In the spring of 1863 he was appointed as major general of the Mississippi State Troops, and the following year was commissioned as a brigadier general of Confederate cavalry transferred from state service. Gholson was severely wounded in the December 1864

Battle of Egypt Station The Battle of Egypt Station (December 28, 1864) was an engagement in Mississippi that took place during a successful Union cavalry raid during the American Civil War. A 3,500-man Union cavalry division under Brigadier General Benjamin Grierson d ...

, and lost his right arm. After the war, he was a member of the

from 1865 to 1866, and in 1878. He was its Speaker in the 1865-1866 session, the last session before 1870. He resumed private practice in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

, Mississippi from 1866 to 1878, and from 1878 to 1883. He died on October 16, 1883, in Aberdeen. He was interred in

Odd Fellows Odd Fellows (or Oddfellows when referencing the Grand United Order of Oddfellows or some British-based fraternities; also Odd Fellowship or Oddfellowship) is an international fraternity consisting of lodges first documented in 1730 in 18th-cen ...

Cemetery in Aberdeen.

References

Sources

* Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Sifakis, Stewart. ''Who Was Who in the Civil War.'' New York: Facts On File, 1988. . * Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Gholson, Samuel Jameson 1808 births 1883 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi United States federal judges appointed by Martin Van Buren 19th-century American judges Confederate States Army generals People of Mississippi in the American Civil War Mississippi lawyers People from Madison County, Kentucky People from Monroe County, Mississippi People from Franklin County, Alabama Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Mississippi Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Mississippi 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Speakers of the Mississippi House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Mississippi Legislature