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James B. Belford

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James Burns Belford
Frontispiece of 1897'sThe Writings and Speeches of Hon. James B. Belford.
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives
fromColorado'sat-largedistrict
In office
October 3, 1876 – December 13, 1877 (contested election)
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byThomas M. Patterson
In office
March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1885
Preceded byThomas M. Patterson
Succeeded byGeorge G. Symes
Member of theIndiana House of Representatives
In office
1867
Personal details
BornSeptember 28, 1837(1837-09-28)
Lewistown, Pennsylvania
DiedJanuary 10, 1910(1910-01-11)(aged 72)
Denver,Colorado
CitizenshipUnited States
Political partyRepublican
SpouseFrances McEwen Belford
ChildrenFrances Belford Wayne
Alma materDickinson College
ProfessionAttorney

James Burns Belford(September 28, 1837 – January 10, 1910) was a 19th-century American politician who served as aU.S. RepresentativefromColorado.

Biography

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James Burns Belford was born on September 28, 1937 inLewistown, Pennsylvania.Belford was the son of Samuel and Eliza Belford and cousin ofJoseph McCrum Belford.He attended the common schools andDickinson CollegeinCarlisle, Pennsylvania.He studied law and wasadmitted to the barin 1859.

Career

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Belford moved toCalifornia, Missouriand commenced practice. He moved toLa Porte, Indianain 1860, and served as member of theIndiana House of Representativesin 1867. He was appointed an associate justice of the supreme court for theColorado Territoryin 1870 and moved toCentral City.He moved toDenverin 1883.

Congress

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Upon the admission of Colorado into the Union, Belford was elected as aRepublicanto theForty-fourthCongress from the first district of Colorado and served from October 3, 1876, until March 3, 1877. He presented credentials as a Member-elect to theForty-fifthCongress and served from March 4, 1877 until December 13, 1877, when he was succeeded byThomas M. Patterson,who successfully contested the election.

Belford was elected to theForty-sixth,Forty-seventh,andForty-eighthCongresses, and served from March 4, 1879 to March 3, 1885. He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Treasury during the Forty-seventh Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1884, and engaged in the practice of law in Denver until his death. He was known as the "Red Rooster of the Rockies" because of his flaming red hair and "magnificently roseate beard."[1]In the mid-1890s he gained notoriety for successfully defending Denver conman and crime bossSoapy Smithin several cases.[2]

Death

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Belford died inDenver,Colorado, on January 10, 1910 (age 72 years, 104 days). He isinterredat Riverside Cemetery, Denver, Colorado.

Family

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He marriedFrances C. McEwenin 1860.[3]Their daughterFrances Belford Waynewas a longtime newspaper journalist in Denver.[4]

References

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  1. ^Perkin, Robert L. (1959).The First Hundred Years: An Informal History of Denver and the Rocky Mountain News.Garden City, NY: Doubleday. pp. 363, 381.
  2. ^Smith, Jeff (2009).Alias Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel,Klondike Research. p. 159-63, 255–57, 292, 376, 379, 382, 386–88, 403.ISBN0-9819743-0-9
  3. ^"James B. Belford".Archives & Special Collections at Dickinson College.Retrieved19 September2013.
  4. ^Nancy Pike Hause,The unsinkable Frances Wayne: an overview of her work as a reporter for the Denver Post from 1909 to 1946(M. A. thesis, 1982, Kansas State University).
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U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
none
 Member of theU.S. House of Representatives
fromColorado's at-large congressional district
1876–1877 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of theU.S. House of Representatives
fromColorado's at-large congressional district
1879–1885 		Succeeded by

Public DomainThis article incorporatespublic domain materialfrom theBiographical Directory of the United States Congress

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