James Johnson Lindley

James Johnson Lindley (January 1, 1822 – April 18, 1891) was a U.S. Representative from Missouri and a lawyer and jurist who practiced in several Midwestern states during the mid- to late nineteenth century. He was born in Mansfield, Richland County, Ohio, on January 1, 1822. In 1836 he moved with his parents to Cynthiana, Kentucky, where he spent part of his youth. He later returned to Ohio for his education and attended Woodville College, Ohio, receiving the schooling that prepared him for a professional career in the law.

In 1843 Lindley moved west to St. Louis, Missouri, which was then a growing commercial and legal center of the Mississippi Valley. He studied law and, after completing his legal training, was admitted to the bar in 1846. He commenced the practice of law in Monticello, Missouri, where he quickly established himself in local legal and political circles. His abilities as a lawyer led to his election as circuit attorney in 1848, a position he again secured in 1852, reflecting his rising prominence in the region’s legal community.

Lindley entered national politics as a member of the Whig Party. He was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-third Congress and subsequently reelected as an Opposition Party candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congress, serving from March 4, 1853, to March 3, 1857, as a U.S. Representative from Missouri. During this period, national politics were marked by sectional tensions over slavery and the future of the Union, and Lindley’s shift from the Whig to the Opposition Party reflected the broader realignment of political parties in the 1850s. He did not stand as a candidate for reelection in 1856 and concluded his congressional service at the close of the Thirty-fourth Congress.

After leaving Congress, Lindley moved in 1858 to Davenport, Iowa, where he continued the practice of law. During the Civil War he was commissioned to investigate the condition of Iowa troops serving in the conflict, a role that connected his legal and political experience with wartime administrative responsibilities. Following the war, he relocated to Chicago, Illinois, where he continued his legal practice until 1868, participating in the legal life of a rapidly expanding urban and commercial center in the postwar Midwest.

In 1868 Lindley returned to Missouri, settling again in St. Louis. His judicial career began soon thereafter, and he was elected or appointed to serve as judge of the circuit court of the eighth judicial district of Missouri, a position he held from 1871 to 1883. In this capacity he presided over a wide range of civil and criminal matters during a period of significant economic growth and social change in the state. His twelve-year tenure on the bench underscored his reputation as an experienced and respected jurist.

After concluding his judicial service, Lindley moved to Kansas City, Missouri. In his later years he retired from active business and professional activities, living quietly as a senior figure of the Missouri bar and bench. He died at the home of a son in Nevada, Vernon County, Missouri, on April 18, 1891. His remains were interred in Elmwood Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri, marking the final resting place of a lawyer, congressman, and judge whose career spanned several states and key decades in nineteenth-century American political and legal history.