James WHITE, Congress, TN (1749-1809)

WHITE, James, (father of Edward Douglass White [1795-1847] and grandfather of Edward Douglass White [1845-1921]), a Delegate from North Carolina and from the Territory South of the River Ohio (now the State of Tennessee); born in Philadelphia, Pa., June 16, 1749; attended a Jesuit College in St. Omer, France; returned to the United States and studied medicine in the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia; also studied law; moved to North Carolina and settled in Davidson County; member of the North Carolina General Assembly in 1785; Member of the Continental Congress from North Carolina 1786-1788; superintendent of Indian affairs for the southern district in 1786; after the creation of the Territory South of the River Ohio (later the State of Tennessee) in 1790, served in the house of representatives of the first Territorial legislature from Davidson County in 1794; elected as a Delegate to the Third and Fourth Congresses from the Territory South of the River Ohio and served from September 3, 1794, to June 1, 1796, when the Territory was admitted into the Union as the State of Tennessee; moved to Louisiana in 1799; appointed judge of Attakapas district in 1804 and later of St. Martin Parish; died in Attakapas, La., in October 1809.

Bibliography

Reeves, William Dale. Paths to Distinction: Dr. James White, Governor E. D. White, and Chief Justice Edward Douglass White of Louisiana. Thibodaux, La.: Friends of the Edward Douglass White Historic Site, 1999.

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