John Jameson (politician)


John Jameson was an American farmer, lawyer, and politician from Fulton, Missouri. He represented Missouri in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Early life

Jameson was born in Mount Sterling, Kentucky in Montgomery County, Kentucky on March 6, 1802. His great uncle was Col. John Jameson and he was a second cousin to George Washington.
He attended the common schools, moved to Callaway County, Missouri in 1825, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1826 and commenced practice in Fulton, Missouri.

Career

He served as a captain in the militia during the Black Hawk War between April and August 1832. He held several local offices, including: member of the Missouri House of Representatives from 1830 to 1836; and Speaker of the House from 1834 to 1836.
Jameson was elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-sixth Congress, filling the vacancy caused by the death of Albert G. Harrison, and serving from December 12, 1839 to March 3, 1841. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1840. In 1842, Jameson was again elected to the U.S. House, serving the Twenty-eighth Congress serving from March 1843 to March 3, 1845. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1844. Jameson was again elected to the Thirtieth Congress serving from March 4, 1847 to March 3, 1849. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1848.

Later life

In 1855, as a lawyer, Jameson led the defense of a slave named Celia in what became an influential trial in the history of slavery. He based his unsuccessful "defense on the premise that under Missouri law Celia possessed the same right to use deadly force to defend her honor as did white women."
In his later years Jameson was a farmer, and was ordained as a minister in the Christian Church.

Personal life

Jameson was married to Susan A. Harris, a daughter of Tyre Harris and Sarah Harris. Together, they were the parents of:
Jameson died in Fulton, Missouri on January 24, 1857, and was interred in the Jameson family cemetery near Fulton.

Descendants

Through his daughter Elizabeth, he was a grandfather of Richard Reid Rogers, the Military Governor of Panama Canal Zone under President Theodore Roosevelt. Richard's daughter, Elizabeth Reid Rogers, married into the German nobility and the House of Hesse, by marrying Prince Christian of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld, a son of Prince William, in 1915 and being titled Baroness von Barchfeld.