James Sykes (March 27, 1761 – October 18, 1822) was an American physician and politician from Dover, inKent County, Delaware. He was a member of theFederalist Party, who served in theDelaware General Assembly and asGovernor of Delaware.

James Sykes was born nearDover, Delaware, the son ofJames and Agnes Sykes. His father was a member of theDelaware General Assembly and a delegate to theContinental Congress. James Jr. studied medicine under Dr.Joshua Clayton and first practiced inCambridge, Maryland. While there he married Elizabeth Goldsborough, daughter of Judge Robert Goldsborough. After four years they returned toDover living on The Green. They had three children; James, Anna Matilda, and William, and were members of Christ Episcopal Church. Their house is now an office building.

In 1791 theDelaware General Assembly appointed Sykes to help manage a lottery to raise one thousand pounds to defray expenses incurred in constructing a new state house. After serving as clerk for the State House in 1796, he was elected to the State Senate in 1793. He served one term for the 1794, 1795, and 1796 sessions. Returning a year later, he served six more terms from the 1798 session through the 1812 session. He was Speaker in 1801, and then in every session from 1804 through 1812. He was also the Democratic-Republican nominee in all three of Delaware's U.S. Senate elections in 1798 and 1799.^[1][2][3]

On February 20, 1801, GovernorRichard Bassett resigned following his appointment asU.S. Circuit Court Judge byU.S. PresidentJohn Adams. As the Speaker of the State Senate, Sykes was next in line of succession and took office as governor. He chose not to run for election in his right, and returned to the State Senate on January 19, 1802.

In the meantime, Sykes had become one of the state's most renowned surgeons. From his office at 45 The Green in Dover, he specialized in treatinggallstones andyellow fever. In 1814 he moved his practice toNew York City for six years, but then returned to the Dover practice with his son, James. In 1822 he became President of the Delaware Medical Society.

Sykes died at Dover and is buried there in the Christ Episcopal Church Cemetery. His son, James, was a physician in Dover and his son, William, was the father ofMajor GeneralGeorge Sykes, a commander atGettysburg in theAmerican Civil War.

Elections were held the first Tuesday of October, and members of the General Assembly took office the first Tuesday of January. State senators had a three-year term. The governor took office the third Tuesday of January and had a three-year term. However, Sykes served as State President, only filling the vacancy caused by the resignation ofRichard Bassett.

• Delaware Historical Society;website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
• University of Delaware;Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831–2965

• Conrad, Henry C. (1908).History of the State of Delaware. Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Wickersham Company.
• Martin, Roger A. (1984).A History of Delaware Through its Governors. Wilmington, Delaware: McClafferty Press.
• Martin, Roger A. (1995).Memoirs of the Senate. Newark, Delaware: Roger A. Martin.
• Munroe, John A. (1954).Federalist Delaware 1775–1815. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University.
• Scharf, John Thomas (1888).History of Delaware 1609–1888. 2 vols. Philadelphia: L. J. Richards & Co.ISBN 0-87413-493-5.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• Wilson, Emerson (1969).Forgotten Heroes of Delaware. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Deltos Publishing Company.

• Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States
• Delaware's Governors
• James Sykes atFind a Grave
• The Political Graveyard

• 1761 births
• 1822 deaths
• People from Dover, Delaware
• American surgeons
• Delaware Federalists
• Delaware state senators
• Governors of Delaware
• Federalist Party state governors of the United States
• Physicians from Delaware
• People from colonial Delaware
• 19th-century American Episcopalians
• 19th-century members of the Delaware General Assembly
• Candidates in the 1798 United States elections
• Candidates in the 1799 United States elections

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