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James Wilmer Dallam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

James Wilmer Dallam (1818–1847) was an American legal scholar and writer. He is the namesake of Dallam County, Texas.

Biography

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Dallam was born September 24, 1818, in Baltimore, Maryland, to Francis Johnson and Sarah (Wilmer) Dallam.[1] He attended Brown University and graduated in 1837, and was subsequently elected to Phi Beta Kappa.[2] Then he went to Reverdy Johnson's office to study law. In 1839, he went to Matagorda, Texas, and stayed for a while to compile a book on Texas' laws, titled as A Digest of the Laws of Texas, it was sometimes referred to as "the lawyer's bible", and was republished in 1881, 1883, and 1904.[1] In 1845, he moved back to Matagorda, where he married Annie Fisher, daughter of Samuel Rhoads Fisher. They had one daughter.[3] In July 1846, he founded the Colorado Herald and edited it for a brief period before his death on August 20, 1847.[1]

Selected works

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Dallam Gregory, Kate (June 12, 2010). "Dallam, James Wilmer". Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  2. ^ Catalogue of the Rhode Island Alpha of Phi Beta Kappa, Brown University. 1914. Page 35.
  3. ^ A Guide to the Fisher Family Papers, 1817-1911