James Aldrich

Who was James Aldrich?

James Aldrich was a South Carolina circuit judge and state representative.

Aldrich was born on Barnwell, South Carolina on July 25, 1850, the son of a prominent attorney, James T. Aldrich, and Isabel C. Pattison. He attended private school until the Civil War interrupted, and was then home schooled. He also worked on the family farm as a child. In the closing days of the war, he joined a local militia unit. The war left his family nearly destitute, and Aldrich supplemented the household income hauling goods. He attended Washington and Lee University beginning in 1869, but was forced by circumstances to leave school in 1872. He read law, and in 1873 was admitted to the bar. He moved to Aiken, South Carolina. On December 15, 1874, he married Fannie Lebby. In 1876, he served as a defense attorney in the Ellenton riots and the Hamburg Massacre, both of which ended in mistrials.

He was held in high esteem by local Democrats after the trials, and was elected to the State House in 1878. He served as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives till 1884. He returned to the House in 1886, and this time served until 1889, when he was elected to the circuit court.