James Henry (1731 – December 9, 1804) was an American lawyer from Aberdeen, Great Britain. He moved to Virginia, where he was a delegate to the Continental Congress and later becoming a judge in the newly independent United States. He died in 1804. He was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1772–1774. Despite the Royal Governor of Virginia dissolving the House, the elected members met in Accomack Courthouse in a meeting chaired by Henry. During the meeting, they resolved they would maintain allegiance to King George III but they would demand their liberties and rights of Englishmen and protested against the Parliament of Great Britain's actions in Boston, Massachusetts. It was also resolved to push for reconciliation between the colonies and the British authorities.
Following the declaration of independence, he became a member of the state legislature. In 1779, he was appointed a judge of the court of admiralty and thus a judge of the first Court of Appeals. In 1789, when the Court of Appeals was reorganized, he was made a judge of the general court.
References
External links
- Biographic sketch at U.S. Congress website