James Maurice

James Maurice (November 7, 1814 – August 4, 1884) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served one term as a United States representative from New York from 1853 to 1855. He was born in New York City, New York, where he spent his early years before embarking on a legal and political career that would make him one of the most prominent citizens of Queens County in the mid-nineteenth century.

Maurice received his early education at Broad Street Academy in New York City. At the age of twelve he became a clerk in a law office, an early start that introduced him to the legal profession and public affairs. He pursued formal legal studies while working, and after several years of preparation he was admitted to the bar in 1835. Following his admission, he established his law practice in Maspeth, in what was then the town of Newtown in Queens County, New York. Over time he became a leading figure in the local bar and an influential advocate for the interests of Newtown and the surrounding communities.

Maurice’s growing prominence in Queens County led naturally to his involvement in state politics. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the New York State Assembly representing Queens County in 1851. In addition to his legislative service, he was active in party affairs and served as a delegate to the Democratic state conventions of 1851, 1853, and 1856. Through these roles he participated in shaping the Democratic Party’s positions and candidate selections during a period of intensifying national debate over sectional issues and the future of the Union.

In 1852 Maurice was elected as a Democrat to the 33rd United States Congress, representing New York and serving from March 4, 1853, to March 3, 1855. His single term in the House of Representatives coincided with a significant period in American history, marked by growing tensions over slavery, territorial expansion, and the balance of power between free and slave states. As a member of Congress, he contributed to the legislative process and participated in the democratic governance of the nation, representing the interests of his Queens County constituents in the federal legislature. His service in Congress formed the centerpiece of his national public career, although he did not seek or hold further federal office after the expiration of his term.

After leaving Congress in 1855, Maurice returned to Maspeth and resumed the practice of law. His legal work and civic engagement reinforced his status as one of the most prominent citizens of Queens County, and he remained a respected voice in local and state affairs. In 1865 he declined a nomination to serve as a justice of the New York Supreme Court, choosing instead to continue his private practice and community involvement. Nonetheless, he returned to elective office the following year, serving again as a member of the New York State Assembly for Queens County’s 2nd District in 1866, thereby extending his record of public service at the state level.

Throughout his career, Maurice was closely identified with the advocacy of Newtown and the broader Queens County area, working to advance the interests of his community within both state and national forums. He was remembered locally for his leadership and for his role in representing Queens during a transformative era for New York and the United States. Although later accounts have sometimes anachronistically associated him with Progressive Era reforms of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, his actual period of activity and influence belonged firmly to the antebellum and immediate post–Civil War decades.

James Maurice died in Maspeth, New York, on August 4, 1884. He was interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery, where his burial marked the close of a long life devoted to the law, public service, and the civic advancement of Queens County.