Representative James Birdsall

James Birdsall (1783 – July 20, 1856) was an American lawyer, legislator, and U.S. Representative from New York. Born in 1783 in New York State, he came of age in the early years of the republic and pursued a legal career at a time when the state and nation were rapidly expanding. After reading law, he was admitted to the bar in 1806, marking the formal beginning of a professional life that would combine legal practice, local office, and service in both state and national legislatures.

Following his admission to the bar, Birdsall settled in central New York and became the first lawyer to establish a permanent practice in Norwich, Chenango County. His arrival there helped shape the emerging legal and civic institutions of the community. In 1811 he was appointed surrogate of Chenango County, a judicial and administrative position in which he handled probate matters and other responsibilities related to estates and guardianships. During this period he married Rizpah Steere; the couple had two sons and a daughter, and his family life ran in parallel with his growing prominence in local affairs.

Birdsall’s political career developed within the context of the early national party system. Identified with the Republican Party of his time—more precisely the Democratic-Republican Party—he became active in public life as that party dominated New York and national politics in the years following the War of 1812. His legal background and county-level service helped establish his reputation as a representative of local interests and a participant in the broader democratic process of the era.

Elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Fourteenth Congress, Birdsall served as United States Representative for the fifteenth district of New York from March 4, 1815, to March 3, 1817. His single term in the U.S. House of Representatives coincided with a significant period in American history, immediately after the War of 1812 and during the early stages of what would later be called the “Era of Good Feelings.” In Congress he contributed to the legislative process and represented the interests of his New York constituents at a time when issues of national finance, internal improvements, and postwar recovery were central to federal policymaking.

After leaving Congress, Birdsall returned to New York and continued his involvement in public and economic affairs. He served as a member of the New York State Assembly from Chenango County in 1827, participating in state-level legislation during a period of rapid growth and political change in New York. In addition to his legislative work, he was one of the incorporators of the Bank of Chenango, reflecting his engagement with the financial development of his region and the broader expansion of banking institutions in the state.

In the late 1830s, Birdsall joined the westward movement of many New Yorkers seeking new opportunities in the Old Northwest. In 1839 he moved to Fenton, in what was then a developing part of Michigan, and later settled in nearby Flint, Genesee County. There he lived during the final phase of his life, as Michigan transitioned from frontier status to a more established state within the Union.

James Birdsall died in Flint, Genesee County, Michigan, on July 20, 1856, at about 73 years of age. He was interred at Glenwood Cemetery in Flint, Michigan. His career, spanning local legal practice, county office, a term in the United States House of Representatives, and service in the New York State Assembly, reflected the pathways of early nineteenth-century American public life and the movement of citizens from the older Atlantic states into the growing communities of the Midwest.