James William Denver (Congressional Biographical Directory)

DENVER, James William,  (father of Matthew Rombach Denver), a Representative from California; born in Winchester, Va., October 23, 1817; attended the public schools; moved to Ohio in 1830 with his parents, who settled near Wilmington; taught school in Missouri in 1841; was graduated from the Cincinnati Law School in 1844; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Xenia, Ohio; also published the Thomas Jefferson; moved to Platte City, Mo., in 1845 and continued the practice of law; served as captain in the Twelfth Regiment, United States Infantry, during the war with Mexico; moved to California in 1850; elected to the State senate in 1851; appointed secretary of state in 1852; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1855-March 3, 1857); was not a candidate for renomination in 1856; appointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs April 17, 1857; resigned to become Governor of the Territory of Kansas June 17, 1857, and during his administration the present capital of Colorado (then Kansas Territory) was founded and named “Denver” for the chief executive; reappointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs November 8, 1858, and served until his resignation on March 31, 1859; was commissioned brigadier general in the Union Army August 14, 1861; resigned from the Army March 5, 1863; resumed the practice of his profession in Washington, D.C., and Wilmington, Ohio; delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1876, 1880, and 1884; died in Washington, D.C., August 9, 1892; interment in Sugar Grove Cemetery, Wilmington, Ohio.