James Nelson BURNES, Congress, MO (1827-1889)

BURNES, James Nelson, a Representative from Missouri; born in Marion County, Ind., August 22, 1827; moved with his parents to Platte County, Mo., in 1837; attended the common schools; was graduated from the Harvard Law School in 1853; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Missouri; attorney of the district of Missouri in 1856; judge of the court of common pleas 1868-1872; engaged in banking and the construction of railroads; served as president of the Missouri Valley Railroad Co.; principal owner and president of the St. Joseph Waterworks Co.; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-eighth, Forty-ninth, and Fiftieth Congresses and served from March 4, 1883, until his death; had been reelected to the Fifty-first Congress, but died in Washington, D.C. on January 23, 1889, before the commencement of the congressional term; interment in Mount Mora Cemetery, St. Joseph, Buchanan County, Mo.

Bibliography

DeKnight, Edward W. James Nelson Burnes, Late a Representative in Congress from Missouri: His life, with a concise reproduction of his speeches and debates in Congress. Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co., 1889.

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