Virginia Historical Society

PLEASANTS, James, a Representative and a Senator from Virginia; born at “Cold Comfort,” in Powhatan County, Va., October 24, 1769; pursued classical studies and graduated from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va.; studied law; admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Amelia County in 1791; member, State house of delegates 1797-1802; clerk of the Virginia house of delegates 1803-1811; elected as a Democratic Republican to the Twelfth and to the four succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1811, to December 14, 1819, when he resigned, having been elected a United States Senator; chairman, Committee on Public Expenditures (Thirteenth Congress), Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Navy (Fifteenth Congress); elected on December 10, 1819, as a Democratic Republican to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John W. Eppes and served from December 14, 1819, to December 15, 1822, when he resigned; chairman, Committee on Naval Affairs (Sixteenth and Seventeenth Congresses); Governor of Virginia 1822-1825; delegate to the State constitutional conventions in 1829 and 1830; retired and lived on his estate, “Contention,” near Goochland, Goochland County, Va., where he died on November 9, 1836; interment on his estate.