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History and Government—Congressional Biographies—MississippiCHALMERS, James Ronald
(1831—1898)
CHALMERS, James Ronald, (son of Joseph Williams Chalmers), a Representative from Mississippi; born near Lynchburg, Halifax County, Va., January 12, 1831; moved with his parents in 1835 to Jackson, Tenn., and in 1839 to Holly Springs, Miss.; attended St. Thomas Hall, Holly Springs, Miss., and was graduated from South Carolina College (now the University of South Carolina) at Columbia in 1851; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1853 and commenced practice at Holly Springs; delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1852; district attorney for the seventh judicial district of Mississippi in 1858; member of the secession convention of Mississippi in 1861; entered the Confederate Army as a captain in March 1861; elected colonel of the Ninth Mississippi Regiment in April 1861; promoted to the rank of brigadier general in February 1862; transferred to the Cavalry service in 1863; in command of the first division of Forrest’s cavalry corps; surrendered in May 1865; member of the State senate in 1876 and 1877; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1877-March 3, 1881); presented credentials as a Member-elect to the Forty-seventh Congress and served from March 4, 1881, to April 29, 1882, when he was succeeded by John R. Lynch, who contested the election; elected as an Independent to the Forty-eighth Congress and, after a contest with Van H. Manning as to the legality of his election, took his seat June 25, 1884, and served until March 3, 1885; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1884 to the Forty-ninth Congress; resumed the practice of law in Memphis, Tenn., where he died April 9, 1898; interment in Elmwood Cemetery.
Bibliography
Halsell, Willie D. “James R. Chalmers and ‘Mahoneism’ in Mississippi.” Journal of Southern History
10 (February 1944): 37-58.
Chalmers, James Ronald. The Colorado contested election case
. [Washington, D.C.: R. O. Polkinhorn, printer, 1877].
———. Mexican award. Speech of Hon J. R. Chalmers, of Mississippi, in the House of Representatives, June 4, 1878
. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1878.
———. An open letter to the “New York Times
. “ [Friar Point?: N.p., 1876].
———. The opinions of the fathers upon the power and duty of the general government to make internal improvements
. Washington, D.C.: N.p., 1878.
———. The probate law and practice in the courts of Mississippi and Tennessee
. Rochester, N.Y.: Lawyers’ Co-operative Publishing Co., 1890.
———. A reply to Hon. E. S. Bragg
. Washington: N.p., 1879.
———. A speech on extending the jurisdiction of the committee on the improvements of the Mississippi River
. Washington: N.p., 1880.
———. The tariff ... Speech of Hon. James R. Chalmers, of Mississippi, in the House of Representatives, Wednesday, June 25, 1884
. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1884.
Halsell, Willie D. “James R. Chalmers and ‘Mahoneism’ in Mississippi.” Journal of Southern History
10 (February 1944): 37-58.
Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present
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