James THORINGTON, Congress, IA (1816-1887)

THORINGTON, James, a Representative from Iowa; born in Wilmington, N.C., May 7, 1816; moved with his parents to Montgomery, Ala., in 1827; attended the common schools, the military school in Fayetteville, N.C., 1830-1832, and the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa 1832-1835; studied law in Montgomery, Ala.; engaged in trading and trapping on the upper Missouri and Columbia Rivers 1837-1839; moved to Davenport, Iowa, in 1839; was admitted to the bar in 1844 and commenced practice in Davenport; mayor of Davenport 1843-1847; probate judge of Scott County 1843-1851; clerk of the district court of Scott County 1846-1854; elected as a Whig to the Thirty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1855-March 3, 1857); was not a candidate for renomination in 1856; affiliated with the Republican Party; sheriff of Scott County 1859-1863; recorder 1864-1868; was appointed consul at Aspinwall, Colombia, January 21, 1873; appointed commercial agent at the same city May 27, 1873, and served in both positions until October 21, 1882; died while on a visit to his daughter at Santa Fe, N.Mex., June 13, 1887; interment in Oakdale Cemetery, Davenport, Iowa.

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