O'Hara, James Edward, 1844-1905
Name Entries
person
O'Hara, James Edward, 1844-1905
Name Components
Surname :
O'Hara
Forename :
James Edward
Date :
1844-1905
eng
Latn
authorizedForm
rda
Genders
Male
Exist Dates
Biographical History
James Edward O'Hara (February 26, 1844 – September 15, 1905) was an American politician and attorney who in 1882, after Reconstruction, was the second African American to be elected to Congress from North Carolina. He was born in New York City to parents of mixed-race West Indian and Irish ancestry and was raised in the West Indies. As a young man, he traveled to the southern United States after the American Civil War with religious missionaries from the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, an independent black denomination, to help freedmen establish independent lives and new congregations. O'Hara became active in politics, being elected as a Republican to local and state offices.
O'Hara passed the bar in North Carolina in 1873 and started a law practice there. In 1878, he ran for Congress and won, but his white opponent was ruled the winner by corrupt public officials. In 1882, O'Hara was elected as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina's 2nd congressional district, where there was a black majority. He served two terms. After being defeated in the 1886 election, he returned to his law practice.
eng
Latn
External Related CPF
https://viaf.org/viaf/68519291
https://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-no96000383
https://id.loc.gov/authorities/no96000383
https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1310301
Other Entity IDs (Same As)
Sources
Loading ...
Resource Relations
Loading ...
Internal CPF Relations
Loading ...
Languages Used
eng
Latn
Subjects
African American legislators
Legislators
Nationalities
Americans
Activities
Occupations
Teachers
Lawyers
Newspaper publishers
Representatives, U.S. Congress
State Representative
Legal Statuses
Places
New Bern
AssociatedPlace
Death
Goldsboro
AssociatedPlace
Residence
New York City
AssociatedPlace
Birth
Enfield
AssociatedPlace
Residence
Convention Declarations
<conventionDeclaration><citation>VIAF</citation></conventionDeclaration>