James Caldwell was the first member of the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 to represent Ohio's 4th congressional district

Ohio's 4th congressional district

Ohio's 4th congressional district is currently represented by Republican Jim Jordan.The district includes the counties of Allen, Auglaize, Champaign, Hancock, Hardin, Logan, Marion, Morrow, Richland, Shelby, and part of Wyandot. The largest cities in the district include Findlay, Lima, Mansfield,...

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Caldwell was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and moved to Wheeling

Wheeling, West Virginia

Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, which was at the time in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. He came to St. Clairsville, Ohio

St. Clairsville, Ohio

St. Clairsville is a city in Belmont County, Ohio in the United States. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,057 at the 2000 census. This county seat of Belmont County has been nicknamed "Paradise on the Hill." St. Clairsville was named after...

 in 1799. He was a Belmont county

Belmont County, Ohio

Belmont County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 70,400. Its county seat is St. Clairsville...

 delegate to the 1802 Ohio Constitutional Convention

Ohio Constitutional Convention (1802)

The Enabling Act of 1802 was passed on April 30, 1802 by the Seventh Congress of the United States. This act authorized the residents of the eastern portion of the Northwest Territory to form the state of Ohio and join the U.S. on an equal footing with the other states...

. He was a member of the Ohio Senate

Ohio Senate

The Ohio State Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly, the legislative body for the U.S. state of Ohio. There are 33 State Senators. The state legislature meets in the state capital, Columbus. The President of the Senate presides over the body when in session, and is currently Tom...

 from 1809 to 1813. He was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the 13th

13th United States Congress

- Senate :* President: Elbridge Gerry , until November 23, 1814, thereafter vacant.* President pro tempore: Joseph B. Varnum , December 6, 1813 – February 3, 1814** John Gaillard , elected November 25, 1814- House of Representatives :...

 and 14th

14th United States Congress

- Senate :* President: Vacant* President pro tempore: John Gaillard of South Carolina, first elected December 4, 1815- House of Representatives :* Speaker: Henry Clay of Kentucky-Members:This list is arranged by chamber, then by state...

 United States Congresses (1813-03-04 – 1817-03-03). He died in Wheeling May 5, 1838, and was buried in Episcopal Cemetery, St. Clairsville.

Ohio Presidential elector in 1820 for James Monroe

James Monroe

James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...

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Ohio Presidential elector in 1824 for Henry Clay

Henry Clay

Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...

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