James Russell Vineyard

Who was James Russell Vineyard?

James Russell Vineyard was a United States Democratic politician and pioneer.

Born in Kentucky, Vineyard settled in Platteville, Wisconsin, in Wisconsin Territory, in the 1840s. During this time, he was elected to the seventh Michigan Territorial Legislative Council for the western area of Michigan Territory; he was then elected to the Wisconsin Territorial Council. In February 1842, in the course of a heated debate over the appointment of a sheriff for Grant County, Vineyard clashed with Charles C. P. Arndt. After the body was adjourned, Arndt's temper remained heated, he charged Vineyard's desk, and Vineyard shot Arndt dead upon the Council floor. Vineyard had boarded with the Arndt family in Green Bay during the winter of 1835-36, and is reported to have been regarded as almost one of the family; the two men were considered fast friends.

He was tried and acquitted of the murder and later served in the first Wisconsin Constitutional Convention of 1846 and was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1848 for one term.

In 1850, he moved to California to join the Gold Rush. He settled in Sacramento, California, where he was an Indian agent.