James Wilson (U.S. politician)
| Jim Wilson | |
|---|---|
-seated.jpg) |
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| 4th United States Secretary of Agriculture | |
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In office March 6, 1897 – March 5, 1913 |
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| President |
William McKinley Theodore Roosevelt William Taft Woodrow Wilson |
| Preceded by | Julius Morton |
| Succeeded by | David Houston |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 5th district |
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In office March 4, 1883 – March 4, 1885 |
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| Preceded by | William G. Thompson |
| Succeeded by | Benjamin T. Frederick |
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In office March 4, 1873 – March 4, 1877 |
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| Preceded by | Francis W. Palmer |
| Succeeded by | Rush Clark |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 16, 1835 Ayrshire, Scotland, UK |
| Died | August 26, 1920 (aged 85) Traer, Iowa, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Esther Wilbur (1863–1892) |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Grinnell College |
James "Tama Jim" Wilson (August 16, 1835 – August 26, 1920) was a Scottish-born American politician who served as United States Secretary of Agriculture for sixteen years during three presidencies, from 1897 to 1913. He holds the record as the longest-serving United States Cabinet member, and if one counts his day and a half under Woodrow Wilson, the only cabinet member to serve under four consecutive Presidents.
Wilson was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, on August 16, 1835. One of 14 children, he grew up in a farming community near the birthplace of Robert Burns.
His family emigrated to America in 1852, settling in Connecticut before moving to Iowa in 1855, establishing a farm near Traer in Tama County. He attended the public schools and Iowa College (now Grinnell College) in Grinnell, Iowa. He married Esther Wilbur in May 1863. Together they had six children: Esther May, Peter McCosh, Flora Hanna, John Ward, George Wright and Jasper Abijah. Esther died on August 3, 1892; Wilson remained a widower for the remainder of his life.
Wilson was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in 1867, and served as speaker from 1870 to 1871 before becoming a professor of agriculture at what is now Iowa State University, where he encouraged the work of George Washington Carver. Wilson was also appointed to the Board of Trustees (now Regents) of Iowa's public higher educational institutions, serving from 1870 to 1874.
In 1872, he was elected to represent Iowa's 5th congressional district as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives. It was during this time that he became known as Tama Jim to distinguish him from the Iowa member of the senate, James F. Wilson. In 1874, Wilson was re-elected, serving a second term, but returned to Iowa in 1877. That year he was appointed to the Iowa State Railway Commission, where he served for six years.
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