James William STOKES, Congress, SC (1853-1901)

STOKES James William , a Representative from South Carolina; born near Orangeburg, S.C., December 12, 1853; attended the common schools and was graduated from Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va., in 1876; taught school for twelve years; was graduated in medicine from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.; engaged in agricultural pursuits in 1889; president of the State Farmers' Alliance; member of the state senate in 1890; delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1892; unsuccessful candidate for election in 1892 to the Fifty-third Congress; presented credentials as a Democratic Member-elect to the Fifty-fourth Congress and served from March 4, 1895, to June 1, 1896, when the seat was declared vacant; elected as Democrat in a special election to fill the vacancy thus caused; reelected as a Democrat to the Fifty-fifth, Fifty-sixth, and Fifty-seventh Congresses and served from November 3, 1896, until his death in Orangeburg, Orangeburg County, S.C., July 6, 1901; interment in Sunnyside Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present