Roman, James D.

Born: 1809-08-11 Chester County, Pennsylvania

Died: 1867-01-19 Washington County, Maryland

James Roman attended common schools and a private school in West Nottingham (present-day Nottingham), Pennsylvania. He moved to Cecil, Maryland, studied law in Frederick, and earned admittance to the bar in 1834, before starting a practice in Hagerstown. Roman served as a member of the Maryland Senate in 1847. In 1846, he won election, as a Whig, to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1847-49, alongside Abraham Lincoln. Roman served as a presidential elector on the Whig presidential ticket in 1848 and on the Democratic presidential ticket in 1856. After his term in Congress, Roman returned to his law practice in Hagerstown. He also served as president of the Old Hagerstown Bank from 1851 until his death in 1867. Prior to his death, Roman took part in the Washington Peace Convention in 1861 in support of preventing the impending war.

Biographical Directory of the American Congress 1774-1996 (Alexandria, VA: CQ Staff Directories, 1997), 1753; Gravestone, Rose Hill Cemetery, Hagerstown, MD.