Thompson, James

Born: 1806-10-01 Butler County, Pennsylvania

Died: 1874-01-28 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Thompson completed preparatory studies and learned the printer's trade. He studied law, earned admittance to the Pennsylvania bar in 1829, and started a practice in Erie, Pennsylvania. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, from 1832 to 1834 and again in 1855. He served as speaker in 1834. Thompson served as a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1838. He served as presiding judge of the sixth judicial district court from 1838 to 1844. He won election, as a Democrat, to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1845 to 1851. Thompson served alongside Abraham Lincoln in the Thirtieth Congress. Not a candidate for renomination in 1850, Thompson returned to his law practice. He served as associate justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court from 1857 to 1866.

Biographical Directory of the American Congress 1774-1996 (Alexandria, VA: CQ Staff Directories, 1997), 1941; Gravestone, Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA.