Representative James Wheelock Ripley

James Wheelock Ripley (March 12, 1786 – June 17, 1835) was an American attorney and Jacksonian politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and the Massachusetts House of Representatives during the early nineteenth century. He was born in Hanover, New Hampshire, the son of Sylvanus Ripley and Abigail Wheelock Ripley, in a family that would produce several prominent public figures. His brother, Eleazar Wheelock Ripley, later became a brigadier general in the War of 1812 and a U.S. Representative from Louisiana, underscoring the family’s engagement in public service and national affairs.

Ripley was educated in the common schools of New England and attended Fryeburg Academy in Fryeburg, in what is now Maine. After completing his preparatory education, he studied law and was admitted to the bar. He began the practice of law in Fryeburg, which at that time was part of Massachusetts, reflecting the evolving political geography of the region prior to Maine’s separation and admission as a state in 1820. His legal career in this frontier community provided the foundation for his later political and military service.

During the War of 1812, Ripley served in the American forces, participating in the conflict that tested the young nation’s sovereignty and military capacity. His wartime experience complemented his emerging legal and political career and helped establish his public reputation. Following the war, he entered elective office and was chosen as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, in which he served from 1814 to 1819. In this capacity, he represented the interests of his constituents in what was then the District of Maine, participating in state-level legislative deliberations during a period of regional growth and political realignment.

Ripley’s congressional service began after Maine achieved statehood and entered the Union in 1820. As a member of the Jackson Party representing Maine, he contributed to the legislative process during three terms in office. He was elected to the Nineteenth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Representative Enoch Lincoln. On the same day, he was also elected to the Twentieth Congress, an unusual circumstance that reflected both his standing among voters and the electoral practices of the era. He was subsequently reelected to the Twenty-first Congress. Ripley served in the United States House of Representatives from September 11, 1826, to March 12, 1830, when he resigned his seat. His tenure in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history marked by the rise of Jacksonian democracy, and he participated in the national legislative process as the country debated issues of economic policy, federal power, and territorial expansion.

After leaving Congress, Ripley resumed the practice of law, returning to his profession in Maine while continuing to hold positions of public trust. On December 16, 1830, he was appointed collector of customs for the district of Passamaquoddy, Maine, a post of considerable importance in a coastal region where maritime trade and enforcement of federal customs laws were central to the local and national economy. He held this federal office from December 16, 1830, until his death, balancing his administrative responsibilities with his ongoing legal work.

In his personal life, Ripley married Abigail Osgood, and together they had eight children, establishing a large family in Fryeburg. His domestic life unfolded alongside his legal and political careers, anchoring him in the community he served for much of his adult life. Ripley died in Fryeburg, Maine, on June 17, 1835, while still serving as collector of customs. He was interred in the Village Cemetery in Fryeburg (often historically rendered as Fryesburg), leaving a record of service that spanned state and national legislatures, military duty in the War of 1812, and federal administrative office during the formative decades of the American republic.