James Noble

Who was James Noble?

James Noble was the first U.S. Senator from the U.S. state of Indiana.

Noble was born near Berryville, Virginia and moved with his parents to Campbell County, Kentucky when he was 10. There he studied law and he became an attorney, after which he moved to Indiana and settled in Brookville around 1808.

Once settled in Indiana he became a ferryboat operator, a judge and a member of the state's first constitutional convention, in 1816, as a delegate from Franklin County.

He was elected to the first session of the Indiana State House of Representatives in 1816.

He was elected as a Democratic Republican to the United States Senate in 1816. He was reelected to two more terms and served from December 11, 1816, until his death in 1831.

While in the Senate he was chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Pensions for the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th and 20th Congresses, and chairman of the U.S. Committee on the Militia for the 16th and 17th Congresses.

He died in Washington, D.C. and is buried in the Congressional Cemetery.