James J. Belden

James Jerome Belden (September 30, 1825 – January 1, 1904) was an American politician and a U.S. Representative from New York.

Biography

Born in Fabius, New York, Belden was the son of Royal Denison Belding and Olive Cadwell and attended the common schools. He married Mary Anna Gere and they had a daughter, Harriet Anna Belden.

Career

After completing his education in local schools, Belden worked in a Jefferson County store to learn bookkeeping and accounting. He went into banking in Syracuse, New York, in 1880. Later he was active in construction, completing many railroad and public works projects. He was also President of the company that published the Syracuse Post, and was a hotel owner. In 1877 and 1878, he served as mayor of Syracuse, New York.

Belden was elected as a Republican to the Fiftieth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Frank Hiscock, who had been elected to the office of United States Senator.

Reelected to the Fifty-first and Fifty-second Congresses, Belden served as U. S. Representative for the twenty-fifth district of New York from November 8, 1887 to March 3, 1893. He was then elected for the Fifty-third Congress and served as U. S. Representative for the twenty-seventh district of New York from March 4, 1893 to March 3, 1895. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1894.

Again elected to the Fifty-fifth Congress, Belden served as U. S. Representative for the twenty-seventh district of New York from March 4, 1897 to March 3, 1899. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1898, but retired to Syracuse.

Death

Belden died, of uremic poisoning, in Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York, on January 1, 1904 (age 78 years, 93 days). He is interred at Oakwood Cemetery (Syracuse, New York). When he died, he was Syracuse's richest citizen with his wealth being estimated at $10 million, according to an obituary in The Sheffield Observer on January 7, 1914.