James Mercer was an American soldier, jurist and political figure.
Background
Mercer was born on February 26, 1736, in Virginia at Malborough plantation. His father, John Mercer, emigrated from Dublin, Ireland, in 1720, settled at "Marlborough, " Stafford County, Virginia, acquired a considerable fortune as a successful lawyer and business man, and was secretary of the Ohio Company, in the affairs of which his two sons, James and George, were also active. By his first wife, Catherine Mason, the aunt of George Mason, c. 1629-c. 1686, he was the father of James, and by his second wife was the father of John Francis Mercer.
Education
James Mercer was educated at the College of William and Mary.
Career
James served in the French and Indian War and was in command, with the rank of captain, of Fort Loudoun at Winchester, Virginia. In 1762 he was elected to represent the nearby county of Hampshire, now in West Virginia, in the Virginia House of Burgesses. He continued to serve this county, not only in that position, but also as a member of the Revolutionary conventions of 1774, 1775, and 1776. He joined with his neighbors at Fredericksburg in drafting resolutions against the oppressive acts of the British government and was appointed, on June 1, 1774, a member of the committee of correspondence. He was active in bringing about the first Virginia Revolutionary convention of August 1774 and was elected by the convention on August 17, 1775, to the first Committee of Safety, which governed Virginia until the state government was inaugurated in 1776. Reelected to the committee upon its reorganization on December 16, 1775, he aligned himself with the progressive group. As a member of the committee of the convention of 1776 that was appointed to draft a declaration of rights and a new plan of government for Virginia he was very active; he was considered one of the best speakers of the period. On June 18, 1779, he was elected by the General Assembly to the Continental Congress and took his seat on September 9, 1779. In 1779 he was appointed to the General Court and served also as a member of the first court of appeals. On November 18, 1789, he was elected one of the five judges of the state's highest court, the reorganized court of appeals, to succeed John Blair, who resigned. He died in Richmond, while attending a session of the court, and was buried in St. John's church yard.
Achievements
Membership
a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses
Personality
Quotes from others about the person
"James Mercer possessed a sound understanding; was an honest man, a learned lawyer, and an impartial and upright judge. "
Connections
James Mercer was married on June 4, 1772, to Eleanor, the daughter of Charles Dick of Fredericksburg, Virginia, commissary in the French and Indian War and associated with Fielding Lewis in manufacturing arms and ammunition for the Revolutionary army. The youngest of their two sons was Charles Fenton Mercer and their only daughter was Mary Eleanor Dick Mercer, who married James Mercer Garnett, 1770-1843, her first cousin.