James Holland (January 12, 1754 – May 19, 1823) was aU.S. Congressman from the state ofNorth Carolina from 1795 to 1797 and from 1801 to 1811. He served as a captain in the Lincoln County Regiment of the North Carolina militia during the American Revolution.[1][2]
Born nearRutherfordton, North Carolina, in 1754, Holland received a very limited education. He was a captain in theLincoln County Regiment of the North Carolina militia from 1779 to 1781.[1] He may have also seen service in theNorth Carolina Line between 1775 and 1783.[2]
He rose in political office, serving assheriff ofTryon County (1775),justice of the peace ofRutherford County (1780–1800), and comptroller of Rutherford County from (July 1782 - January 1785). He was first elected to theNorth Carolina State Senate, serving in 1783 and to theNorth Carolina House of Commons in 1786 and 1789, and was a delegate to theFayetteville Convention which adopted theUnited States Constitution in 1789. From the legislature, he was appointed to the board of trustees for theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; he served as a trustee from 1789 to 1795.[2]
In the 1790s, Holland studied law; he was admitted to the bar on October 15, 1793, and began to practice law in Rutherfordton. In 1794, he was elected as aRepublican to the4th United States Congress, serving from March 4, 1795, to March 3, 1797. Although he chose not to run for re-election to Congress, he returned to the North Carolina Senate in 1797 and returned to farming and a law practice.[2]
Holland returned to Congress in 1801, serving for five terms (March 4, 1801 – March 3, 1811), stepping down in 1810. In 1811, Holland moved toMaury County, Tennessee, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits nearColumbia. He served as a justice of the peace from 1812 to 1818 and died on his estate in 1821. He is buried in the Holland Family (now known as Watson) Cemetery, nine miles east of Columbia.[2]
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Carolina's 1st congressional district 1795–1797 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Carolina's 1st congressional district 1801–1803 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by District created | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Carolina's 11th congressional district 1803–1811 | Succeeded by |
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