James C. Terrell

James C. Terrell (November 7, 1806 – December 1, 1835) was a United States Representative and lawyer from Georgia who served briefly in the Twenty-fourth Congress before resigning because of ill health. A member of the Union party during a period of intense sectional and partisan conflict in Georgia, he combined a legal career with state and national legislative service.

Terrell was born on November 7, 1806, in Franklin County, Georgia, a largely rural area in the northeastern part of the state. Little is recorded about his family background or early childhood, but his subsequent professional path suggests that he received a level of education sufficient to prepare him for the study of law, then typically pursued through apprenticeship or independent reading rather than formal law school training.

After completing his preliminary education, Terrell studied law in Georgia, following the customary practice of reading law under the supervision of established attorneys. Having satisfied the requirements for legal practice, he was admitted to the state bar. He established his law practice in Carnesville, Georgia, the county seat of Franklin County, where he built his professional reputation and entered public life. His work as an attorney in a small but important local center of commerce and government provided a foundation for his later political career.

Terrell’s entry into elective office came with his service in the Georgia House of Representatives, where he served from 1830 to 1834. During these years, Georgia politics were dominated by debates over states’ rights, federal authority, and the proper response to national economic and political developments. As a state legislator, Terrell participated in this environment of heightened political engagement, aligning himself with the Union faction in Georgia that opposed extreme states’ rights doctrines and supported maintaining the federal Union.

In 1834, Terrell was elected as a Union Representative from Georgia to the Twenty-fourth United States Congress. He took his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives on March 4, 1835. His election placed him in the midst of national debates during the administration of President Andrew Jackson, including issues related to federal power, economic policy, and sectional tensions. Terrell’s affiliation with the Union party in Georgia reflected a moderate stance within the broader Democratic and anti-nullification currents of the time.

Terrell’s service in Congress was cut short by serious health problems. After only a few months in office, he resigned his seat on July 8, 1835, explicitly citing failing health as the reason for his departure from national legislative service. His resignation ended a brief but notable tenure in the House, during which he represented his northeastern Georgia constituency at a time of significant political realignment in both state and national politics.

Following his resignation, Terrell’s health continued to decline. He died later that year, on December 1, 1835. Though his public career was brief, encompassing four years in the Georgia House of Representatives and several months in the U.S. Congress, James C. Terrell’s life reflected the pathways by which early nineteenth-century Georgia lawyers entered public service and participated in the contentious political struggles over the nature of the Union and the balance of state and federal authority.