James Trezvant

James Trezvant
James Trezvant
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives; from Virginia's 2nd district
	In office; March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1831
Preceded by	Arthur Smith
Succeeded by	John Y. Mason
Chairman of the Committee on Military Pensions
	In office; March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1831
Preceded by	James Coffield Mitchell
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Member of the Virginia Senate from Dinwiddie, Southampton and Sussex Counties
	In office; 1808–1811
Preceded by	John Pegram
Succeeded by	Joseph Goodwyn
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Southampton County
	In office; 1807; Alongside Edward Bailey
Personal details
Born	Unknown; Sussex County, Virginia
Died	September 2, 1841; Southampton County, Virginia
Political party	Jacksonian (after 1829)
Other political; affiliations	Democratic-Republican (before 1829)
Occupation	lawyer

James Trezvant (died September 2, 1841) was a U.S. Representative from Virginia.^[1] He was also a slave owner.^[2]^[3]

Biography

Born in Sussex County, Virginia, Trezvant studied law after college. He was admitted to the bar and began practicing law in Jerusalem, Virginia, eventually rising to position of attorney general in the state. In 1820, Trezvant served as delegate to the State constitutional convention. He subsequently was elected to and served in the State house of delegates.

He was elected to the Nineteenth and Twentieth Congresses and as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-first Congress (March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1831). He served as chairman of the Committee on Military Pensions during the Twenty-first Congress.

Trezvant served in the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829-1830 from Southampton County; his district included Sussex, Surry, Isle of Wight, Prince George, and Greensville counties. He served on the Committee of the Executive Department.^[4]

He was one of the judges in Southampton County in the trials of the people involved in the Nat Turner's Rebellion.^[5]

Trezvant died in Southampton County, Virginia on September 2, 1841.

Electoral history

1825; Trezvant was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives unopposed.
1827; Trezvant was re-elected unopposed.
1829; Trezvant was re-elected unopposed.

References

^ "Bioguide Search". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
^ Weil, Julie Zauzmer; Blanco, Adrian; Dominguez, Leo. "More than 1,700 congressmen once enslaved Black people. This is who they were, and how they shaped the nation". Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
^ "Congress slaveowners", The Washington Post, 2022-01-27, retrieved 2022-01-29
^ Pulliam 1901, p. 68, 71
^ Alfred L. Brophy, "The Nat Turner Trials", North Carolina Law Review (June 2013), volume 91: 1817-80.

Bibliography

Pulliam, David Loyd (1901). The Constitutional Conventions of Virginia from the foundation of the Commonwealth to the present time. John T. West, Richmond. ISBN 978-1-2879-2059-5.

United States Congress. "James Trezvant (id: T000365)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Arthur Smith	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 2nd congressional district 1825–1831	Succeeded by John Y. Mason
Political offices
Preceded by James Coffield Mitchell Tennessee	Chairman of House Military Pensions Committee 1829–1831	Succeeded by Position abolished