{{Short description|American politician and jurist (1806–1852)}} '''James Archibald Meriwether''' (September 20, 1806 – April 18, 1852) was a United States representative, jurist and lawyer from Georgia. His uncle was U.S. Representative James Meriwether.
==Early years and education== Meriwether was born near Washington, Georgia, on September 20, 1806, to James and Susannah Hatcher Meriweather. He graduated from the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens with a Bachelor of Arts (AB) degree in 1826.
==Legal career and military service== After studying law and gaining admittance to the state bar, he practiced law in Eatonton, Georgia. He was also captain of a volunteer unit during the Seminole Wars.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/military/indian/meriwether.txt|title=Putnam County, Ga. – Military Indian Wars Capt J.A. Meriwether 1836|publisher=www.usgwarchives.net|access-date=January 25, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.libs.uga.edu/hargrett/archives/reedindex.html|title=The History of the University of Georgia|author=Thomas Reed|publisher=University of Georgia|page=216|access-date=January 25, 2020|archive-date=January 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200125170548/https://www.libs.uga.edu/hargrett/archives/reedindex.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Political service== From 1831 to 1836 and again in 1838, Meriwether served in the Georgia House of Representatives as a representative of Clarke County. From 1845 to 1849, he served as a judge of the superior court for the Eatonton (Ocmulgee) district . In 1840, he was elected as a Whig Representative from Georgia to the 27th United States Congress and served one term from March 4, 1841, until March 3, 1843. He returned to the Georgia House in for one term in 1843. In 1851 he was once again elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, and served as Speaker of that body in 1852.
==Personal life== Meriwether married Rebecca Carleton McKigney, and together the couple had eight children who survived past childhood.<ref name="Anthology">{{cite web|url=http://gentrekker.com/getperson.php?personID=I23971&tree=Dickinson|title=Hon. James Archibald Meriwether|publisher=Southern Anthology – Families on the Frontiers of the Old South|access-date=January 25, 2020}}</ref>
==Death== Meriwether died on April 18, 1852, in Eatonton and was buried in that city's Union Cemetery.
==See also== * List of speakers of the Georgia House of Representatives
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{bioguide}} {{CongBio|M000652}} * [http://american-south.org/export/html/dlg/lump/amso_dlg_lump_jhl0079.html?Welcome Letter dated April 25, 1852 reporting the sudden death of Judge James Archibald Meriwether] * [http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/cgi-bin/ebind2html.pl/reed_c03?seq=49 ''History of the University of Georgia'', Thomas Walter Reed, Imprint: Athens, Georgia : University of Georgia, ca. 1949, pp. 215–216] * {{find a Grave}}
{{S-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state = Georgia | district = AL | before= Mark Anthony Cooper | after= Howell Cobb | years= March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843 }} {{S-end}}
{{Speakers of the Georgia House of Representatives}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meriwether, James}} Category:1806 births Category:1852 deaths Category:Members of the Georgia House of Representatives Category:Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Category:University of Georgia alumni Category:American people of the Seminole Wars Category:People from Wilkes County, Georgia Category:Whig Party United States representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:People from Eatonton, Georgia Category:19th-century Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges Category:19th-century American lawyers Category:United States representatives who owned slaves Category:19th-century United States representatives Category:19th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly