James A. Bayard Jr.
12thDean of the United States Senate
In office December 20, 1862 – January 29, 1864 Serving with Solomon Foot
Preceded by	James Pearce
Succeeded by	Solomon Foot
United States Senator fromDelaware
In office March 4, 1851 – January 29, 1864
Preceded by	John Wales
Succeeded by	George R. Riddle
In office April 5, 1867 – March 3, 1869
Preceded by	George R. Riddle
Succeeded by	Thomas F. Bayard Sr.
Personal details
Born	James Asheton Bayard Jr. (1799-11-15)November 15, 1799 Wilmington, Delaware
Died	June 13, 1880(1880-06-13) (aged 80) Wilmington, Delaware
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Anne Francis ​ ​ (m. 1823; died 1864)​
Relations	Richard H. Bayard (brother) Richard Bassett (grandfather)
Children	7, includingThomas
Parent(s)	James A. Bayard Nancy Bassett Bayard
Residence	Wilmington, Delaware
Profession	lawyer

James Asheton Bayard Jr. (November 15, 1799 – June 13, 1880) was an American lawyer and politician fromDelaware. He was a member of theDemocratic Party and served asU.S. Senator from Delaware.

Bayard was born inWilmington, Delaware, on November 15, 1799. He was a son of Nancy (née Bassett) Bayard andJames A. Bayard, a member of theFederalist Party who served asU.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Delaware.^[1] His older siblings included brotherRichard H. Bayard, also a U.S. Senator from Delaware, and Ann Caroline Bayard, who operated the Bayard family's ironworks, Victoria Furnace, with their brother Henry Milligan Bayard.^[2]

His paternal grandparents were Dr. James Asheton Bayard and Ann (née Hodge) Bayard. TheBayard family was descended from a sister ofDirector-GeneralPetrus Stuyvesant and came toBohemia Manor,Cecil County, Maryland, in 1698. His maternal grandfather wasRichard Bassett, a signatory to the United States Constitution and U.S. Senator from Delaware.^[1]

Bayard studied the law, and began his legal practice in the city of Wilmington. From 1836 until 1843 he served asUnited States Attorney for Delaware. In 1851 he was elected to the U.S. Senate. He was re-elected in 1857 and 1863, and served from March 4, 1851, to January 29, 1864, when he resigned. As U.S. Senator he was chairman of the Committee on Engrossed Bills in the 32nd Congress, a member of the Committee on Public Buildings in the 33rd Congress and 34th Congress, a member of the Committee on Judiciary in the 35th Congress and 36th Congress, and a member of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds in the 35th Congress.

Bayard served on the boards of various railroads, including theWilmington and Susquehanna Railroad,^[3] thePhiladelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (for which service he is named on the 1839Newkirk Viaduct Monument), and thePennsylvania Railroad.^[4]

In 1846, Bayard represented slave owners in a civil suit againstThomas Garrett, a Wilmington iron merchant who was also a "stationmaster" on theUnderground Railroad. The plaintiffs demanded damages from Garrett for helping around 10 slaves escape to freedom. The suit was tried in the U.S. District Court inNew Castle, Delaware, beforeChief Justice of the Supreme CourtRoger B. Taney (sitting as a circuit judge). (Taney later issued the notoriousDred Scott decision as Chief Justice.) Bayard won a judgement that all but bankrupted Garrett, who declared on the spot that he would redouble his anti-slavery efforts: "Friend, I haven't a dollar in the world, but if thee knows a fugitive who needs a breakfast, send him to me".^[5]

Bayard was a conservative and adhered to his interpretation of tradition throughout theAmerican Civil War. He believed the South should be allowed to secede peacefully, and privately hoped for the secession of Delaware and a state convention to address the issue.^[6] Citing property rights of owners, he opposed abolitionist measures. He also stated both his opposition to the Civil War and his opposition to any presidential or congressional acts used to suppress the independence of the Southern states.

During the Civil War, the Senate required all senators to swear an oath of loyalty to the Union. Bayard refused, stating that such an oath would be unconstitutional, and after taking the oath and giving a long speech disputing its legality, resigned from the Senate.

The death of his successor,George R. Riddle, on March 29, 1867, left the Senate seat vacant. Bayard interrupted his practice of law in Wilmington and accepted appointment to the vacant seat. He was subsequently elected to fill it, and served again from April 5, 1867, to March 3, 1869. During the impeachment trial of PresidentAndrew Johnson, Bayard voted "not guilty." After declining to run again for re-election, he returned to private practice for several years until poor health incapacitated him.

In 1872, he was among the nine politicians whose names were submitted by the House of Representatives to the Senate for investigation in theCredit Mobilier scandal. He wrote a letter disavowing any knowledge of the affair, and his name was generally dropped from the investigation.^[7]

On July 8, 1823, Bayard was married to Anne Francis (1802–1864) by the Right Rev. BishopWilliam White.^[1] Anne was the daughter ofThomas Willing Francis and Dorothy (née Willing) Francis and granddaughter ofThomas Willing, the first president ofFirst Bank of the United States. Anne's elder sister, Elizabeth Francis, was the second wife of their cousin, U.S. Senator from Rhode Island,John Brown Francis. Together, they were the parents of:^[1]

• James Asheton Bayard (1825–1848), who died unmarried.^[1]
• Mary Ellen Bayard (1827–1845), who married Augustus Van Courtlandt Schermerhorn (1812–1846), son ofAbraham Schermerhorn.^[1]
• Thomas Francis Bayard (1828–1898), a U.S. Senator who married Louise Lee, daughter of Josiah Lee and Elouise Sewell. After her death, he married Mary Willing Clymer, the granddaughter and namesake of the Philadelphia socialiteMary Willing Clymer.^[1]
• Charles Carroll Bayard (1829–1850), who died from a wound received during the eruption ofMount Vesuvius on February 9, 1850.^[8][9]
• George Harrison Bayard (1832–1836), who died in childhood.^[1]
• Mabel Bayard (1838–1897), who married Dr. John Kintzing Kane Jr. (1833–1886), son of JudgeJohn K. Kane, in 1863. After his death, she married Levi Clark Bird (1842–1902).^[1]
• Florence Bayard (1842–1898), who marriedBenoni Lockwood IV (1834–1909).^[1]

His wife died on March 11, 1864. Bayard died at Wilmington on June 13, 1880, and is buried there in the Old Swedes Episcopal Church Cemetery.^[1]

Through his son Thomas, he was a grandfather of U.S. SenatorThomas F. Bayard Jr., who married Elizabeth Bradford du Pont, and was the father of five, includingAlexis I. du Pont Bayard, theLieutenant Governor of Delaware from 1949 to 1953.^[1]

Senators were elected by the state legislature at this time – in this case theDelaware General Assembly – to a six-year term beginning March 4. Bayard was elected to a term beginning March 4, 1863, but resigned in 1864. George R. Riddle was appointed to serve the rest of the term, but died in 1867. Bayard was then appointed to serve the remainder of the term.

Notes

Sources

Bibliography

• Churella, Albert J. (2013).The Pennsylvania Railroad: Volume I, Building an Empire, 1846–1917. Philadelphia:University of Pennsylvania Press.ISBN 978-0-8122-4348-2.OCLC 759594295.
• Hoffecker, Carol E. (2004).Democracy in Delaware. Cedar Tree Books, Wilmington.ISBN 1-892142-23-6.
• Martin, Roger A. (2003).Delawareans in Congress: The House of Representatives. Roger A. Martin, Newark.ISBN 0-924117-26-5.
• Munroe, John A. (1993).History of Delaware.University of Delaware Press.ISBN 0-87413-493-5.
• Scharf, John Thomas. (1888).History of Delaware 1609-1888. 2 vols. L. J. Richards & Co., Philadelphia.

• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Delaware’s Members of Congress
• James A. Bayard Jr. atFind a Grave
• The Political Graveyard
• "Bayard, James Asheton (Jr.)" .Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900.
• Delaware Historical Society
• University of Delaware

• 1799 births
• 1880 deaths
• Bayard family
• Politicians from Wilmington, Delaware
• Delaware lawyers
• People of Delaware in the American Civil War
• Democratic Party United States senators from Delaware
• Delaware Democrats
• Union College (New York) alumni
• United States attorneys for the District of Delaware
• 19th-century Delaware politicians
• 19th-century American lawyers
• 19th-century American Episcopalians
• 19th-century United States senators

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from November 2016