James Dellet | |
|---|---|
 1840s daguerreotype of James Dellet | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromAlabama's1st district | |
| In office March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1845 | |
| Preceded by | Reuben Chapman |
| Succeeded by | Edmund S. Dargan |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromAlabama's5th district | |
| In office March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1841 | |
| Preceded by | Francis Strother Lyon |
| Succeeded by | District inactive |
| Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives | |
| In office 1819–1819 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | George W. Owen |
| Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives | |
| In office 1821–1821 | |
| Preceded by | George W. Owen |
| Succeeded by | Arthur P. Bagby |
| Member of theAlabama House of Representatives | |
| In office 1819–1832 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1788-02-18)February 18, 1788 |
| Died | December 21, 1848(1848-12-21) (aged 60) |
| Party | Whig |
James Dellet (February 18, 1788 – December 21, 1848), was an American lawyer, planter, and politician who served asSpeaker of the Alabama House of Representatives during the state's inaugural legislative session in 1819 and again in 1821. He later represented Alabama in theUnited States House of Representatives as aWhig, serving in theTwenty-sixth (1839–1841) andTwenty-eighth (1843–1845) Congresses.[note 1][1][2][3][4]
Dellet was born inCamden, New Jersey, and moved with his family toColumbia, South Carolina, in 1800. He graduated from South Carolina College (now theUniversity of South Carolina) in 1810, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1813, and practiced. He moved to theAlabama Territory in 1818, settling atClaiborne, where he continued to practice law and briefly served as a circuit judge.[1][2]
Dellet representedMonroe County in the first state legislature following Alabama statehood and was elected the firstSpeaker of the House in 1819.[3][2] He returned to the House in later terms and was again chosen Speaker at the November 1821 session in Cahawba.[4][2] He also served additional legislative terms in the mid-1820s and early 1830s.[2]
During his legal career at Claiborne, Dellet mentored apprentices, includingWilliam B. Travis, who studied in his office in 1828 before leaving for Texas, andBenjamin F. Porter, who later became a judge and reform advocate.[2] In the 1830s, Dellet partnered in practice with future Alabama Supreme Court justiceLyman Gibbons, who married Dellet’s daughter Emma.[5][6]
Dellet was the unsuccessful Whig candidate for Congress in 1833. He was later elected as a Whig to the Twenty-sixth Congress from Alabama’s 5th district (1839–1841) and to the Twenty-eighth Congress from the 1st district (1843–1845). He resumed the practice of law and engaged in agricultural pursuits between and after his terms.[1]
Dellet died on December 21, 1848, at Claiborne and was interred in a private cemetery at his Dellet Park plantation.[1]
...first Speaker of the House of Representatives... In 1821, Dellet was reelected and again chosen as Speaker of the House.
...James Dellett... was duly elected [Speaker] and conducted to the chair.
...the House proceeded to the election of a Speaker; ... Mr. James Dellet was elected Speaker...
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromAlabama's 5th congressional district 1839–1841 | Succeeded by District inactive |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromAlabama's 1st congressional district 1843–1845 | Succeeded by |
Speakers of theAlabama House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Alabama Territory |  | |
| State of Alabama |
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