James Elliot (politician)

James Elliot
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives
In office 1818-1819
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Vermont's 2nd district
In office March 4, 1803 – March 3, 1809
Preceded by	Lewis R. Morris
Succeeded by	Jonathan Hatch Hubbard
Personal details
Born	August 18, 1775 Gloucester, Massachusetts
Died	November 10, 1839 (aged 64) Newfane, Vermont
Political party	Democratic-Republican
Profession	law, author, congressman

James Elliot (August 18, 1775 – November 10, 1839) was an American lawyer, author and politician. He served as a United States Representative from Vermont.

Biography

Elliot was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and worked as a farmer and store clerk. He moved to Guilford, Vermont in 1790, and served as a sergeant in the Northwest Indian War of 1793 in Ohio. Elliot published several works of poems and essays in 1798,^[1] and served as a clerk of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1801 to 1803.^[2]

Elliot studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1803. He began the practice of law in Brattleboro, Vermont. He was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1803 to March 3, 1809.^[3]

Upon retiring from Congress, Elliot published a newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,^[4] and served in the War of 1812 as a captain.^[5] He resumed practicing law in Brattleboro, Vermont, and served as clerk of the Windham County Court from 1817 to 1835. In 1818 and 1819 Elliot returned to politics in the Vermont House of Representatives. He worked as register of the probate court from 1822 to 1834, and then returned to the state House of Representatives from 1837 to 1838. He was the State's attorney for Windham County from 1837 to 1839.^[6]

Published works

James Elliott, The Poetical and Miscellaneous Works of James Elliott citizen of Guilford, Vermont, and late a noncommissioned officer in the Legion of the United States: in four books (Greenfield, Massachusetts: Printed by Thomas Dickman, for the author, 1798)

Eugene L. Huddleston, Indians and Literature of the Federalist Era: The Case of James Elliott, 44 New England Quarterly 221-237 (June, 1971)

Death

Elliot died on November 10, 1839 in Newfane, Vermont and is interred at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Brattleboro, Vermont.

See also

• List of United States Representatives from Vermont
• Politics of the United States

References

1. The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography: Being the History ..., Volume 9. J. T. White Company. 1899. p. 454.
2. "ELLIOT, James, (1775 - 1839)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
3. "Rep. James Elliott". govtrack.us. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
4. "James Elliott". Dictionaries.com. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
5. "Elliott, James (1775-1839)". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
6. "The Balance and Columbian Repository". The Freeman Institute. Retrieved October 24, 2012.

External links

• U.S. Congress biography
• Vermont HIstorical Society
• The Freeman Institute: Black History Collection
• govtrack.us
• The Political Graveyard