James R. Whiting

James Raynor Whiting (April 30, 1803 – March 16, 1872) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Life

He was New York County District Attorney from 1838 to 1844. In 1842 as District Attorney, he prosecuted John C. Colt for the murder of Samuel Adams.^[1]

In November 1855, he was elected on the Democratic ticket a justice of the New York Supreme Court, and took office on January 1, 1856, but resigned the following year. In November 1857, Josiah Sutherland was elected to fill the vacancy.

In November 1856, Whiting ran on a Reform ticket for Mayor of New York City, but he and four other candidates were defeated by Fernando Wood.

He was buried at the Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx).

Sources

• The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 350 and 377; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) [gives wrong first name "John" on page 350]
• CITY ELECTION.; OFFICERS ELECTED in NYT on November 12, 1855
• THE ELECTIONS TO-MORROW in NYT on November 3, 1856
• Funeral Obsequies of Ex-Judge Whiting in NYT on March 21, 1872 [has typo in middle name "Traynor"]

1. Schecter, Harold (2010). Killer Colt: Murder, Disgrace, and the Making of an American Legend. Random House. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-345-47681-4.