James Pleasants, Jr., January 30, 1811-February 23, 1811

Pleasants, James
Oil on canvas, 36 x 29 in., by Waldemar F. Dietrich (1876-1976?), undated;
Copy of an original by Chester Harding (1792-1866)

Location: courtroom foyer, right

Born October 24, 1769 in Powhatan, Virginia
Died November 9, 1836 in Goochland County, Virginia

Elected by the General Assembly on January 30, 1811 to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of St. George Tucker. Resigned before he sat on the court.

Education:
Attended the College of William and Mary about 1785
Read law with Judge William Fleming

Professional career:
Private practice of law in Chesterfield, Virginia, 1790-?
Virginia state delegate, 1797-1802
Clerk, Virginia House of Delegates, 1802-1811
U.S. representative from Virginia, 1811-1819
U.S. senator from Virginia, 1819-1822
Governor of Virginia, 1822-1825
Delegate, Virginia Constitutional Convention, 1829-1830


Sources:
Elected on January 30, 1811, and resigned on February 23, 1811, E. Griffith Dodson, Jr., Speakers and Clerks of the Virginia House of Delegates, 1776-1955 (Richmond: Virginia House of Delegates, 1956), 41; and 16 Va., xvii; birth, education, and career, ibid., 41; attended William and Mary, A Provisional List of Alumni, Grammar School Students, Members of the Faculty, and Members of the Board of Visitors of the College of William and Mary in Virginia From 1693-1888 (Richmond: Division of Purchase and Printing, 1941), 93; portrait, Ray O. Hummel, Jr., and Katherine M. Smith, Portraits and Statuary of Virginians Owned by the Virginia State Library, the Medical College of Virginia, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and Other State Agencies (Richmond, Va.: The Virginia State Library, 1977), 32; digital image of the portrait courtesy the Library of Virginia, where the portrait is currently housed.