James Monroe

James Monroe (September 10, 1799 – September 7, 1870) was an American politician who served as a United States representative from New York from 1839 to 1841. He was related to President James Monroe as his nephew.

Early Life:

James Monroe was born in Albemarle County, Virginia. His parents were Ann (née Bell) Monroe and Andrew Augustine Monroe, who was a younger brother of President James Monroe. His paternal grandfather was Spence Monroe (1727–1774), a planter and carpenter, and his grandmother Elizabeth Jones (1730–1774) married Spence Monroe in 1752. They had five surviving children, including James Monroe. His ancestry included French Huguenot immigrants who arrived in Virginia around 1700, and his family lineage traces back to Patrick Andrew Monroe, who emigrated from Scotland in the mid-17th century and acquired land in Westmoreland County in 1650.

Career:

Monroe graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1815 and was commissioned into the Artillery Corps. Early in his military career, he participated in the war with Algiers and was wounded while serving aboard the USS Guerriere as a gunnery officer. Between 1817 and 1822, he served as aide-de-camp to General Winfield Scott, receiving a promotion to first lieutenant in December 1818. In 1821, following military reorganization, he was assigned to the 4th Artillery Regiment. During the Black Hawk War in 1832, he was again appointed as aide to General Scott but contracted cholera shortly afterward. He resigned his Army commission on September 30, 1832, and moved to New York City.

Political Career:

In New York City, Monroe served as assistant alderman in 1832, an alderman from 1833 to 1835, and was president of the board of aldermen in 1834. He was elected as a member of the Whig Party to the 26th United States Congress, serving from March 4, 1839, to March 3, 1841. Monroe later served in the New York State Assembly representing New York County in 1850 and again in 1852.

Personal Life:

James Monroe married Elizabeth "Eliza" Mary Douglas (1799–1852), daughter of George Douglas and Margaret Corne. They had several children, including:

- George Monroe, who entered the seminary.

- William D. Monroe.

- Frances "Fanny" Monroe (1824–1906), who married Douglas Robinson Sr. (1824–1893).

- Elizabeth Mary Monroe (c. 1833–1857), who married Solomon Betts Davies (1827–1860).

After the death of his wife, Monroe retired to Orange, New Jersey, where he lived until his death on September 7, 1870, just days before his 71st birthday. He was interred at Trinity Church Cemetery in Manhattan.

Descendants:

James Monroe's grandson, Douglas Robinson Jr. (1855–1918), married Corinne Roosevelt (1861–1933), sister of President Theodore Roosevelt and an aunt of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Their children, and Monroe's great-grandchildren, include Connecticut Representative Corinne Douglas Robinson (1886–1971) and New York State Senator Theodore Douglas Robinson (1883–1934). Theodore Robinson married Helen Rebecca Roosevelt, a descendant of Franklin D. Roosevelt through his brother James Roosevelt (1854–1927) and Helen Schermerhorn Astor of the Astor family.