James H. Duncan

{{Short description|American politician (1793–1869)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = James Henry Duncan | image = James H. Duncan (Massachusetts Congressman).jpg | state1 = [[Massachusetts]] | district1 = [[Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district|3rd]] | term_start1 = March 4, 1849 | term_end1 = March 3, 1853 | preceded1 = [[Amos Abbott]] | succeeded1 = [[J. Wiley Edmands]] | office2 = Member of the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]] | term2 = 1827<br>1837–1838<br>1857 | birth_date = December 5, 1793 | birth_place = [[Haverhill, Massachusetts]] | death_date = February 8, 1869 (aged 75) | death_place = [[Haverhill, Massachusetts]] | party = [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] | spouse = | relations = | children = | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | signature = | website = | footnotes = }}

[[File:Coat of Arms of James Duncan.svg|175px|thumb|left|Coat of Arms of James Duncan]] '''James Henry Duncan''' (December 5, 1793 – February 8, 1869) was a member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] from Massachusetts.

Born in [[Haverhill, Massachusetts]], to James Duncan and his wife, Rebecca White, Duncan attended [[Phillips Exeter Academy]], and graduated from [[Harvard University]] in 1812. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1815, commencing practice in Haverhill.

He was an active militia officer, and attained the rank of colonel. He was president of the Essex Agricultural Society, and member of the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]] in 1827, 1837, 1838, and again in 1857. He served in the [[Massachusetts State Senate]] from 1828 to 1831, and was a delegate to the Whig National Convention at [[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania]], in 1839. He was appointed Commissioner-in-Bankruptcy in 1841.

He was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-first and Thirty-second Congresses (March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1853). Following his political career he was engaged in the real-estate business.

He died of pneumonia on February 8, 1869, in Haverhill, aged 75, and was interred in Linwood Cemetery.

His daughter, Margaret, married [[Stephen Henry Phillips]] on October 3, 1871.<ref name="Hurd">{{Cite book |author= Robert S. Rantoul |editor= Duane Hamilton Hurd |title = History of Essex County, Massachusetts: with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men |volume= 1 |issue= 1 | pages = xlviii – li | publisher = J.W. Lewis & Company | location = Philadelphia | year = 1888 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=DEwWAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PR48-IA2 }}</ref>

James H. Duncan is the namesake of [[Duncan, Illinois]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n109 110]}}</ref>

==Personal life== James married Mary Willis on June 26, 1826, in Haverhill, Massachusetts.

They had 13 children together, 8 daughters and 5 sons: Rebekah White (died in infancy), James Henry, Benjamin Willis (died in infancy), Rebekah White, Mary Willis, George (died in childhood), Susan Reynolds, Samuel White, Rosanna, Elizabeth, George Willis, Caroline and Margaret.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{CongBio|D000532}} *{{Find a Grave|16209642}}

{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=Massachusetts | district=3 | before=[[Amos Abbott]] | after= [[J. Wiley Edmands]] | years=March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1853}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, James H.}} [[Category:1793 births]] [[Category:1869 deaths]] [[Category:Phillips Exeter Academy alumni]] [[Category:Harvard University alumni]] [[Category:Massachusetts lawyers]] [[Category:Massachusetts state senators]] [[Category:Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives]] [[Category:Politicians from Haverhill, Massachusetts]] [[Category:Whig Party United States representatives from Massachusetts]] [[Category:19th-century American lawyers]] [[Category:19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court]] [[Category:19th-century United States representatives]]