James Holland

Who was James Holland?

James Holland was a U.S. Congressman from the state of North Carolina from 1795 to 1797 and from 1801 to 1811.

Born near Rutherfordton, North Carolina, in 1754, Holland received a very limited education. He was a major in the North Carolina militia and also saw service in the North Carolina Line between 1775 and 1783. He rose in political office, serving as sheriff of Tryon County, justice of the peace of Rutherford County, and comptroller of Rutherford County from. He was first elected to the North Carolina State Senate, serving in 1783 and to the North Carolina House of Commons in 1786 and 1789, and was a delegate to the state convention which adopted the United States Constitution in 1789. From the legislature, he was appointed to the board of trustees for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; he served as a trustee from 1789 to 1795.

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 a Republican to the 4th United States Congress, serving from March 4, 1795 to March 3, 1797.