James Carroll was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated from St. Mary's College

St. Mary's Seminary and University

St. Mary's Seminary and University is a Roman Catholic seminary in Baltimore, Maryland; it was the first seminary founded in the United States of America.-History:...

 in Baltimore in 1808. Carroll studied law, but did not practice. He settled on a farm on the West River

West River

-Rivers:Canada*West River in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia*West River in Pictou County, Nova Scotia*West River in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia...

, but later moved back to Baltimore. His reputation was improved when he became judge of the orphans' court and a trustee of the poor. He served as a director of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Company

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal, and occasionally referred to as the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 parallel to the Potomac River in Maryland from Cumberland, Maryland to Washington, D.C. The total length of the canal is about . The elevation change of...

.

Carroll was elected a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 to the Twenty-Sixth United States Congress

26th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:- Leadership :- Senate :*President: Richard M. Johnson *President pro tempore: William R. King - House of Representatives :*Speaker: Robert M.T. Hunter -Members:This list is arranged by chamber, then by state...

 to represent Maryland's Fourth District

Maryland's 4th congressional district

Maryland's 4th congressional district comprises portions of Prince George's and Montgomery County. The seat is currently represented by Donna Edwards, a Democrat, who has represented the district since 2008....

. He took seat in 1839, but had lost reelection and left in 1841. Carroll ran for Governor of Maryland

Governor of Maryland

The Governor of Maryland heads the executive branch of the government of Maryland, and he is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state, and he has a broad range of appointive powers in both the State and local governments,...

 in 1844, winning his party's nomination, but lost in the general election to Whig

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

 Thomas G. Pratt

Thomas Pratt

Thomas George Pratt was a lawyer and politician from Annapolis, Maryland. He was the 27th Governor of Maryland from 1845 to 1848 and a U.S. Senator from 1850 to 1857.-Early life and career:...

 by a margin of a mere 548 votes. He retired and died on January 16, 1873. He is interred in the Carroll vault in Old Saint Paul's Cemetery

Old Saint Paul's Cemetery

Old Saint Paul's Cemetery is a cemetery located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is noted for the several important historical figures that are interred in its grounds.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988....

 in Baltimore, Maryland.

He was a member of the Carroll family

Carroll family

The Carroll family of Maryland is a prominent political family in the History of the United States, or, more correctly, a group of distantly related families...

.

External links

• James Carroll at Find A Grave
  Find A Grave
  Find a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...