John Jameson (politician)

John Jameson (March 6, 1802 – January 24, 1857) was an American farmer, lawyer, and politician from Fulton, Missouri. He represented Missouri in the US House of Representatives.

John Jameson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Missouri
In office
March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1849
Preceded byNew district
Succeeded byWilliam Van Ness Bay
Constituency2nd district
In office
March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1845
Preceded byJohn C. Edwards
Succeeded bySterling Price
Constituencyat-large
In office
December 12, 1839 – March 3, 1841
Preceded byAlbert Galliton Harrison
Succeeded byJohn C. Edwards
Constituencyat-large
Personal details
Born(1802-03-06)March 6, 1802
Mount Sterling, Kentucky
DiedJanuary 24, 1857(1857-01-24) (aged 54)
Fulton, Missouri
Political partyDemocratic
RelationsRichard Reid Rogers (grandson)

Early life

Jameson was born in Mount Sterling, Kentucky in Montgomery County, Kentucky on March 6, 1802. His great uncle was Col. John Jameson and he was a second cousin (twice removed) to George Washington.[1]

He attended the common schools, moved to Callaway County, Missouri in 1825, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1826 and commenced practice in Fulton, Missouri. He owned slaves.[2]

Career

He served as a captain in the militia during the Black Hawk War between April and August 1832. He held several local offices including member of the Missouri House of Representatives from 1830 to 1836 and the Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives from 1834 to 1836.

Jameson was elected as a Democrat to the 26th Congress and filled the vacancy that had been caused by the death of Albert G. Harrison. Serving from December 12, 1839 to March 3, 1841, he was not a candidate for renomination in 1840. In 1842, Jameson was again elected to the House and served the 28th Congress from March 1843 to March 3, 1845. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1844.[3] Jameson was again elected to the 30th Congress and served from March 4, 1847 to March 3, 1849. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1848.[4]

Later life
John Jameson, an engraving by Francis Croll, courtesy of the National Galleries of Scotland

In 1855, as a lawyer, Jameson led the defense of a slave named Celia in what became an influential trial of a slave.[5] He based his unsuccessful "defense on the premise that under Missouri law Celia possessed the same right to use deadly force to defend her honor as did white women."[6]

In his later years, Jameson was a farmer and was ordained as a minister in the Christian Church.

Personal life

Jameson was married to Susan A. Harris (1814–1890), a daughter of Tyre Harris and Sarah (née Garland) Harris. Together, they were the parents of:

  • John Harris Jameson (1838–1902), who married Mary E. Herndon (1842–1927), a daughter of Edward S. Herndon, in 1861.[7]
  • Elizabeth Jameson (1840–1902), who married Benjamin F. Rogers. After his death, she married Judge Richard Reid.[8]
  • Ollie Tom Jameson (1842–1863), who died unmarried.[9]
  • Sarah Tyre Jameson (1843–1863), who died two weeks before she was to marry Richard Reid of Montgomery County, Kentucky. Ten years after her death, Reid married her sister, Elizabeth.[8]
  • Malinda R. Jameson (1845–1909), who married Clare O. Atkinson (1838–1919), a director of the Callaway Bank in Fulton.[10]

Jameson died in Fulton, Missouri on January 24, 1857, and was interred in the Jameson family cemetery near Fulton.[8]

Descendants

Through his daughter Elizabeth, he was a grandfather of Richard Reid Rogers, the Military Governor of Panama Canal Zone under President Theodore Roosevelt. Richard's daughter, Elizabeth Reid Rogers, married into the German nobility and the House of Hesse,[11] by marrying Prince Christian of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld, a son of Prince William, in 1915 and being titled Baroness von Barchfeld.[12]

References
  1. E. O. Jameson, The Jameson's of America, 1647-1900, Rumford Press, Boston, 1901, pp. 136-137
  2. "Congress slaveowners", The Washington Post, 2022-01-19, retrieved 2022-07-10
  3. Moser, Carol B. (2001). John Tyler: A Bibliography. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-313-28168-6. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  4. "JAMESON, John (1802-1857)". bioguideretro.congress.gov. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  5. McLaurin, Melton A. (2011). Celia, a Slave. University of Georgia Press. ISBN 978-0-8203-4159-0. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  6. Christensen, Lawrence O.; Foley, William E.; Kremer, Gary (1999). Dictionary of Missouri Biography. University of Missouri Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-8262-6016-1. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  7. School, Harvard Law (1888). Alumni Directory of the Harvard Law School. Harvard Law School. p. 187. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  8. Reid, Elizabeth Jameson (1886). Judge Richard Reid: A Biography. Standard Publishing Company. p. 57. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  9. Branch, Carolyn Paul (2010). Fulton, Missouri 1820 - 1920. p. 311. ISBN 978-0-557-68450-2. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  10. Department, Missouri State Banking (1911). Biennial Report on Examinations of the State Banks and Trust Companies of Missouri to the ... General Assembly of the State of Missouri ... The Department. p. 176. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  11. "To Wed nephew of Kaiser". The Washington Reporter. 22 December 1914. p. 1. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  12. Times, Special to The New York (16 December 1914). "WILL WED GERMAN PRINCE.; Miss E.R. Rogers Engaged to Christian, a Captain in the Navy". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
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