James Thomas Elliott was a U.S. Representative

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...

 from Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

.

Early education and marriage

Elliott was born in Columbus, Georgia

Columbus, Georgia

Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...

. He attended the common schools and studied law.
He was admitted to the bar

Admission to the bar in the United States

In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...

 in 1854 and commenced practice in Camden, Arkansas

Camden, Arkansas

Camden is a city in and the county seat of Ouachita County in the southern part of the U.S. state of Arkansas. Long an area of American Indians villages, the French also made a permanent settlement here because of its advantageous location above the Ouachita River. According to 2007 Census...

. He was chosen President of the Mississippi, Ouachita & Red River Railroad in 1858.
Married Augusta Brooks Elliott, they had four children.

The Elliott House

Elliott House is located on west Washington Street in Camden, Arkansas; built in 1857 by James Thomas Elliott. The Union General Frederick Salomon occupied the home in 1864 during a stay in Camden. The family lived upstairs during the occupation; their son Milton Arteles Elliott was a 13 year old Private in the Confederate Army. Matthew Brady photographed their younger son, William Sells Elliott, on the front porch of the house.

The Battle of Poison Springs

The battle was the last significant fight the Confederate States won in the South. The Battle of Poison Spring

Battle of Poison Spring

The Battle of Poison Spring was fought during the American Civil War on April 18, 1864, in Ouachita County, Arkansas as part of the Camden Expedition.-Opposing forces:Dwindling supplies for his army at Camden, Arkansas forced Union Army Maj. Gen...

 took place on April 18, 1864, during the Arkansas phase of the Red River Campaign.

Later life and politics

Elliott became a Circuit Judge of the Sixth Judicial District of Arkansas from October 2, 1865, serving until September 15, 1866. He established and edited the South Arkansas Journal in 1867. In this time period, the family lost 2 daughters, Belle and Emmaline Elliott to yellow fever on the same day.

Reconstruction, KKK murder, call to Congress

During Reconstruction, the U.S. Representative James M. Hinds on October 22, 1868 was assassinated by a member of the Ku Klux Klan, by George A. Clark, Secretary of the Democratic Committee of Monroe County, who was drunk at the time.

James Thomas Elliott chose to run for the empty seat in a turbulent historical time. He was elected as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 to the Fortieth Congress

40th United States Congress

The Fortieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1867 to March 4, 1869, during the third and fourth...

 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James Hinds, and served from January 13, 1869, to March 3, 1869.

Career summary

United States Representative James Thomas Elliott April 22, 1823 – July 28, 1875

• Admitted to the Bar in 1854
• President of the Mississippi, Ouachita & Red River Railroad in 1858.
• Housed Union General Frederick Salomon and Matthew Brady during the Battle of Poison Springs, in 1864.
• Circuit Judge of the Sixth Judicial District of Arkansas from October 2, 1865, serving until September 15, 1866.
• Republican Party, United States Representative, from Arkansas to the 40th United States Congress, served from January 13, 1869, to March 3, 1869.
• Elected to the State Senate 1870.
• Judge of the Ninth Judicial District 1872-1874, when the State Constitution was adopted.
• Died in Camden, Arkansas, on July 28, 1875 and is interred with his family in Oakland Cemetery.

Historical references

His daughter-in-law, Mrs. Milton Arteles Elliott, edited, and the ladies in Ouachita County, Arkansas Historical Society published a book, now held in the Library of Congress, called Garden of Memories.

See also

• Members of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas