James H. Wolff

James Harris Wolff
Wolff, c. 1903
Born	August 4, 1847 Border Springs, Lowndes County, Mississippi, United States
Died	May 3, 1913(1913-05-03) (aged 65) Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Burial place	Ridgelawn Cemetery, Watertown, Massachusetts, United States
Education	New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, Harvard Law School
Occupation(s)	Lawyer, war veteran, civil rights activist
Spouse	Mercy Anna Birmingham (m. 1880–1913; his death)

James Harris Wolff (August 4, 1847 – May 3, 1913) was an American Civil War veteran, civil rights activist, and prominent attorney in Boston, Massachusetts. He was a commander of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), and he was the only African American to hold that position.[1] Wolff was the first African American admitted to practice law in the federal courts in Maryland.[2]

Early life, military service, and education

James Harris Wolff was born on August 4, 1847, in Border Springs, Lowndes County, Mississippi, to parents Eliza and Abraham Wolff.[3] He was raised on a farm in Holderness, New Hampshire.[3] He attended Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, New Hampshire.[3][1] From December 4, 1862 until June 17, 1865 during the American Civil War, he served in the United States Navy in the rank of Landsman, and served on the USS Minnesota and the USS Maratanza.[3]

For two years Wolff attended the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts in Hanover, New Hampshire.[3] He moved to Boston to study law under Daniel Wheelwright Gooch.[3] His law studies were continued at Harvard Law School for the next two years, graduating in 1874.[3][4]

Career

He passed the Suffolk County Bar on June 26, 1875.[1][3] For the next year he taught in Darien, Georgia; followed by a move to Baltimore, Maryland, where he became the first African American admitted to practice law in the United States Circuit Court (the federal courts in Maryland).[3][2]

In 1886, Wolff was a founding partner at the Boston law firm Walker, Wolff and Brown at 46 School Street; which was the first Black law firm in the city.[5] The other founding partners included Edwin Garrison Walker, and Edward Everett Brown.[6]

Wolff served as president of the Wendell Phillips Club, and was a founding member of the Crispus Attucks Club in Boston.[3] He was a Republican.[3]

In 1899, Wolff became a commander of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) a fraternal organization of Civil War veterans, at Francis Washburn Post 92 in Brighton neighborhood of Boston.[3]

Death

Wolff died of hypertrophy of the prostate on May 3, 1913, in Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and was buried at Ridgelawn Cemetery in Watertown.[3][4]

References

1. "Obituary for James Harris Wolff". The Daily Item (obituary). 1913-05-05. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
2. Lovell Banks, Taunya (2004). "Setting the Record Straight: Maryland's First Black Women Law Graduates". Maryland Law Review. 63 (4). ...reporting that in 1875, James Harris Wolff, a Harvard Law School graduate, became the first black lawyer admitted to practice before the federal courts in Maryland, followed shortly by Charles S. Taylor
3. Neal, Anthony W. (January 14, 2015). "James Harris Wolff: Civil War veteran, prominent Boston attorney". The Bay State Banner. ISSN 1946-6730. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
4. Thayer, William Roscoe (1914). The Harvard Graduates' Magazine. Harvard Graduates' Magazine Association. pp. 204–205 – via Google Books.
5. Dain, Daniel (2024-09-19). A History of Boston. Peter E. Randall Publisher. p. 316. ISBN 978-1-942155-63-8.
6. Massachusetts Legal History: A Journal of the Supreme Judicial Court Historical Society. The Society. 1999. p. 122.