James Iredell, Jr.

Infobox Governor
name =James Iredell, Jr.


order =23rd
office =Governor of North Carolina
term_start =1827
term_end =1828
lieutenant =
predecessor =Hutchins Gordon Burton
successor =John Owen
order2 =United States Senator from North Carolina
term_start2 =December 15, 1828
term_end2 =March 3, 1831
predecessor2 =Nathaniel Macon
successor2 = Willie Person Mangum
birth_date =November 2, 1788
birth_place =Chowan County, North Carolina
death_date =April 13, 1853
death_place =Edenton, North Carolina
nationality =
party =Democratic-Republican
spouse =
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater =
occupation =
profession =
religion =


website =
footnotes =

:"This article is about James Iredell, Jr., the governor and senator from North Carolina. For his father, the United States Supreme Court justice, see James Iredell."James Iredell, Jr. (November 2, 1788ndash April 13, 1853) was the Democratic-Republican governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina between 1827 and 1828.

Early life

Iredell was born in Chowan County, North Carolina. He was the son of well-known parents: his father, James Iredell, was a statesman and U.S. Supreme Court justice, and his mother was the sister of former Governor Samuel Johnston. In 1806, young Iredell graduated from the College of New Jersey (today Princeton University).

On his way toward political prominence, Iredell commanded a company of volunteers during the War of 1812, practiced law in Chowan County, served in the state House of Commons as a representative from Edenton, and was appointed a Superior Court judge.

Governor and U.S. Senator

During his short term as Governor, he pushed for better infrastructure and education. Reacting to an interest of the day--horse-drawn railroad carriages--he suggested the construction of a trial railroad from Campbellton to Fayetteville.

However, his brief time in office (and the inherent weaknesses of the Governor under the North Carolina Constitution) did not allow him to accomplish much. He left office after a few months to serve in the U.S. Senate, a post he held from 1828 to 1831. He was completing the term of Nathaniel Macon, who had resigned. By that time, Iredell was a Jacksonian, or member of the Democratic Party. Iredell did not seek to be re-elected by the state General Assembly to a full term in the Senate. He moved to Raleigh, practiced law, and served as court reporter for the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1840 to 1852. He died in Edenton and is buried there in the Johnston Burial Ground.

External links

* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6221121 Find-A-Grave]
* [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=I000028 Congressional Biography]