James Asheton BAYARD, Jr., Congress, DE (1799-1880)

BAYARD, James Asheton, Jr., (son of James Asheton Bayard, Sr., brother of Richard Henry Bayard, grandson of Richard Bassett, father of Thomas Francis Bayard, Sr., and grandfather of Thomas Francis Bayard, Jr.), a Senator from Delaware; born in Wilmington, Del., November 15, 1799; pursued classical studies; studied law; admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Wilmington; United States district attorney for Delaware 1838-1843; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate in 1851; reelected in 1857 and 1863 and served from March 4, 1851, to January 29, 1864, when he resigned; chairman, Committee on Engrossed Bills (Thirty-second Congress), Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads (Thirty-sixth Congress), Committee on Public Buildings (Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth Congresses), Committee on Judiciary (Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth Congresses), Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds (Thirty-fifth Congress); resumed the practice of law in Wilmington; appointed in 1867 to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of George Read Riddle; was subsequently elected as a Democrat to that position and served from April 5, 1867, to March 3, 1869; was not a candidate for reelection; again resumed the practice of law; died in Wilmington, Del., June 13, 1880; interment in the Old Swedes Burial Ground.

Bibliography

Dictionary of American Biography; Bayard, James A. A Brief Exposition of the Constitution of the United States: With an Appendix Containing the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation, and a Copious Index. 1833. Reprint. Littleton, CO: F. B. Rothman & Co., 1992; McClanahan, Brion T. “A Lonely Opposition: James A. Bayard Jr. and the American Civil War.” Ph.D. dissertation: University of South Carolina, 2006.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present