James MERCER, Congress, VA (1736-1793)

MERCER, James, (brother of John Francis Mercer), a Delegate from Virginia; born at “Marlborough,“ Stafford County, Va., February 26, 1736; received private schooling at home; was graduated from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va.; served as a captain in the French and Indian War; commander of Fort Loudoun, Winchester, Va., in 1756; studied law and was admitted to the bar; active in pre-Revolutionary affairs; member of the Virginia House of Burgesses 1762-1775; member of the Virginia conventions of 1774, 1775, and 1776; member of the committee of public safety in 1775 and 1776; member of the State constitutional convention in May 1776; Member of the Continental Congress in 1779; served as a judge of the General Court of Virginia 1779-1789; trustee and president of the Fredericksburg Academy 1786-1790; judge of the first Virginia Court of Appeals from 1789 until his death in Richmond, Va., on October 31, 1793; interment in St. John's Church Cemetery.

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