James Carr, American lawyer and politician (b. 1777)
James Carr (September 9, 1777 – August 24, 1818), son of U.S. Congressman Francis Carr, was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Maine, then a District of Massachusetts.
Carr was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, on September 9, 1777. He attended Phillips Exeter and Byfield Academies, and then went to sea as clerk on the U.S.S. Crescent. He served two years as secretary to the United States Consul at Algiers. He then joined his parents (who had migrated to Bangor, Maine), engaging in mercantile pursuits and serving as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1806–1811) for the District of Maine.
Carr was elected as a Federalist to the Fourteenth United States Congress (1815–1817), the second person from Bangor to occupy that office (following his father).
Carr was drowned in the Ohio River on August 24, 1818. While traveling with his family on a steamboat, his 9-year-old daughter Mary fell overboard just below Louisville, Kentucky, and Carr entered the water in a failed attempt to save her. Neither of their bodies were ever recovered, though a memorial to Carr was erected at Bangor's Mount Hope Cemetery.Carr was married to Betsey Stelle Jarvis, who migrated to Illinois along with two brothers following the tragedy on the river. The Carrs remained a prominent mercantile and political family in Bangor despite James' death (see Francis Carr).
1818Aug, 24
James Carr (Massachusetts politician)
Choose Another Date
Events on 1818
- 12Feb
Chilean Declaration of Independence
Bernardo O'Higgins formally approves the Chilean Declaration of Independence near Concepción, Chile. - 4Apr
Flag of the United States
The United States Congress adopts the flag of the United States with 13 red and white stripes and one star for each state (then 20). - 16Apr
Rush-Bagot Treaty
The United States Senate ratifies the Rush-Bagot Treaty, establishing the border with Canada. - 20Apr
Trial by battle
The case of Ashford v Thornton ends, with Abraham Thornton allowed to go free rather than face a retrial for murder, after his demand for trial by battle is upheld.