Meriwether, James A., 1806-1852

James A. Meriwether was a Representative from Georgia. He was born near Washington, Wilkes County, Georgia on September 20, 1806. Meriwether completed prepatory studies and graduated from the University of Georgia at Athens in 1826. He studied law and was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Eatonton, Putnam County, Ga. He was a member of the state house of representatives from 1831-1836 and 1838. James A. Meriwether was a judge of the superior court of the Eatonton (Ocmulgee) district 1845-1849. He was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1841-March 3, 1843). He was again a member of the state house of representatives in 1843, 1851 and served as speaker of the state house of representatives in 1852. He died in Eatonton, Ga. on April 18, 1852. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress http://bioguide.congress.gov (Retrieved January 15, 2009)

Most famous for serving as the vice president of the Confederacy, Alexander Hamilton Stephens was a near-constant force in state and national politics for a half century. Born near Crawfordville, in Taliaferro County, on February 11, 1812, to Margaret Grier and Andrew Baskins Stephens, the young Stephens was orphaned at fourteen, which intensified his already melancholic disposition. He graduated from Franklin College (later the University of Georgia) in 1832 and gained admittance to the bar two years later. There followed a steady and uninterrupted rise to political prominence. New Georgia Encyclopedia http://georgiaencyclopedia.org (Retrieved January 15, 2009)