Library of Congress

EUSTIS, James Biddle, (brother of George Eustis, Jr.), a Senator from Louisiana; born in New Orleans, La., August 27, 1834; pursued classical studies; graduated from the Harvard Law School in 1854; admitted to the bar in 1856 and commenced practice in New Orleans; served as judge advocate during the Civil War in the Confederate Army; resumed the practice of law in New Orleans; elected a member of the State house of representatives prior to the reconstruction acts; one of the committee sent to Washington to confer with President Andrew Johnson on Louisiana affairs; member, State house of representatives 1872; member, State senate 1874-1878; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy in the term commencing March 4, 1873, caused by the action of the Senate in declining to seat certain claimants and served from January 12, 1876, to March 3, 1879; unsuccessful candidate for reelection; professor of civil law at the University of Louisiana 1877-1884; again elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1885, to March 3, 1891; was not a candidate for reelection; practiced law in Washington, D.C., in 1891; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to France 1893-1897; settled in New York City; died in Newport, R.I., on September 9, 1899; interment in Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, Ky.