{{Short description|American politician (1789–1854)}} {{for|the U.S. representative, jurist and lawyer|James Archibald Meriwether}} '''James Meriwether''' (1789–1854)<!-- Political graveyard has different birth/death dates, but sources quoted below both agree on 1789 and 1854--> was a United States representative and lawyer from Georgia. His father was David Meriwether and his nephew was James Archibald Meriwether.<ref name="Leaders">{{cite book|title=American Political Leaders 1789–2009|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ktR1AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA196|year= 2009|publisher=CQ Press|isbn=978-1452267265|page=196}}</ref>
==Early years and education== Meriwether was born near Washington, Georgia, Wilkes County in 1789. He attended the common schools, and graduated from the University of Georgia in Athens with a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) degree in 1807 and was a tutor at the University for a year.<ref name="Leaders" /><ref name="US HOUSE">{{cite web|url=https://history.house.gov/People/Listing/M/MERIWETHER,-James-(M000651)/|title=James Meriwether|publisher=United States House of Representatives|access-date=January 25, 2020}}</ref><ref name="UGA" />
==Career in law and military service== After studying law in Elberton, Georgia and gaining admittance to the state bar, he practiced law for a short time and then focused on farming. From 1811 to 1813, he was judge of the inferior court of Clarke County, Georgia.<ref name="UGA">{{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=138|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> In 1813, Meriwether fought in the Creek War under the command of General John Floyd. Meriwether served as a trustee of UGA from 1816 until 1831.<ref name="US HOUSE" />
==Political office== From 1821 to 1823, Meriwether served in the Georgia House of Representatives representing Clarke County. President James Monroe appointed Meriwether as a commissioner to negotiate with the Creek in 1823.<ref name="UGA" /> In 1824, he was elected as a Jacksonian Representative to the 19th United States Congress and served one term from March 4, 1825 until March 3, 1827, as he did not seek reelection in 1826.<ref name="US HOUSE" />
==Later years== James Meriwether returned to his farming and died while on a trip near Memphis, Tennessee, in 1854. He was buried at his family plantation in Clarke County.<ref name="US HOUSE" />
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{bioguide}} * [http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/cgi-bin/ebind2html.pl/reed_c02?seq=99 ''History of the University of Georgia'', Thomas Walter Reed, Imprint: Athens, Georgia : University of Georgia, c. 1949, pp. 135, 138] * {{cite web|last1=Meriwether|first1=James|title=[Letter] 1824 Dec. 14, Princeton, [Georgia] near Broken Arrow [to] G[eorge] M. Troup, [Governor of Georgia], Milledgeville / Duncan Campbell [and] Ja[me]s Meriwether, U.S. Commis[ione]rs|url=http://metis.galib.uga.edu/ssp/cgi-bin/tei-natamer-idx.pl?sessionid=02f30415-2ba1824017-0337&type=doc&tei2id=TCC051|website=Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730–1842|publisher=Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries, Digital Library of Georgia|access-date=21 February 2018}}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} * {{find a grave}}
{{S-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state = Georgia | district = AL | before= Richard Henry Wilde | after= Wilson Lumpkin | years= March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1827 }} {{S-end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Meriwether, James}} Category:1789 births Category:1854 deaths Category:People from Wilkes County, Georgia Category:Jacksonian United States representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Members of the Georgia House of Representatives Category:Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Category:University of Georgia alumni Category:People of the Creek War Category:United States representatives who owned slaves Category:19th-century United States representatives Category:19th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly