James Asheton BAYARD, Jr., Congress, DE (1799-1880)

BAYARD James Asheton, Jr. , a Senator from Delaware; born in Wilmington, Del., November 15, 1799; pursued classical studies; studied law; admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Wilmington; United States district attorney for Delaware 1838-1843; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate in 1851; reelected in 1857 and 1863 and served from March 4, 1851, to January 29, 1864, when he resigned; chairman, Committee on Engrossed Bills (Thirty-second Congress), Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads (Thirty-sixth Congress), Committee on Public Buildings (Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth Congresses), Committee on Judiciary (Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth Congresses), Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds (Thirty-fifth Congress); resumed the practice of law in Wilmington; appointed in 1867 to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of George Read Riddle; was subsequently elected as a Democrat to that position and served from April 5, 1867, to March 3, 1869; was not a candidate for reelection; again resumed the practice of law; died in Wilmington, Del., June 13, 1880; interment in the Old Swedes Burial Ground.

Bibliography

Dictionary of American Biography; Bayard, James A. A Brief Exposition of the Constitution of the United States: With an Appendix Containing the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation, and a Copious Index. 1833. Reprint. Littleton, CO: F. B. Rothman & Co., 1992; McClanahan, Brion T. “A Lonely Opposition: James A. Bayard Jr. and the American Civil War.” Ph.D. dissertation: University of South Carolina, 2006.

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