Joseph Williams CHALMERS, Congress, MS (1807-1853)

CHALMERS, Joseph Williams, (father of James Ronald Chalmers), a Senator from Mississippi; born in Halifax County, Va., 1807; studied law in the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, and in Richmond; admitted to the bar and practiced; moved to Jackson, Tenn., in 1835 and to Holly Springs, Miss., in 1839, practicing law in both places; vice chancellor of the northern Mississippi district in 1842 and 1843; appointed and subsequently elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Robert J. Walker and served from November 3, 1845, to March 3, 1847; chairman, Committee on Engrossed Bills (Twenty-ninth Congress); engaged in the practice of law in Holly Springs, Marshall County, Miss., until his death on June 16, 1853; interment in Hill Crest Cemetery.

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