James Giles (general)

General
James Giles
Portrait by Joseph Wright
Born1759 (1759)
New York City
Died23 July 1825(1825-07-23) (aged 65–66)
Bridgeton, New Jersey
Occupations
  • Military officer
  • lawyer

James Giles (1759 – July 23, 1825) was an American military officer and lawyer from the city of Bridgeton in Cumberland County, New Jersey.

Military service

On January 13, 1777, Giles began his service in the American Revolutionary War as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 2nd Continental Artillery Regiment. In 1780, he was transferred to Virginia and served under the Marquis de Lafayette, who presented him with a French infantry officer’s sword for his service. In 1781, he was appointed Regimental adjutant. In 1789, he was admitted as an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati, first in New York, then in New Jersey. In 1793, he was commissioned Brigadier General of the Cumberland Brigade of the New Jersey Militia. Giles later greeted Lafayette during his 1824 visit to the United States.

Professional career

In 1782, he studied law with Joseph Bloomfield in Trenton, New Jersey and was licensed as an attorney in 1783. From 1788 to 1803, Giles served as the Clerk of Cumberland County, New Jersey. In 1790, he founded and was appointed Master of the Brearley Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons, named after founding father David Brearley. He was the first president of the Cumberland National Bank, starting in 1816.

Personal life

Giles was born in New York City around 1759. On May 23, 1784, he married Hannah Bloomfield, sister of Joseph Bloomfield. They moved to Bridgeton in 1788. He died on July 23, 1825, and was buried in the Old Broad Street Presbyterian Church Cemetery.

Legacy

His residence at 143 West Broad Street in Bridgeton, now known as the General James Giles House, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Adjutant James Giles". The Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Jersey.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Cumberland County Clerks". Cumberland County, New Jersey Clerk's Office. James Giles
  3. ↑ Cushing, Thomas; Sheppard, Charles E. (1883). "James Giles". History of the Counties of Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland New Jersey, with Biographical Sketches of their Prominent Citizens. Everts and Peck. p. 551.
  4. ↑ Meyers, John F. (1936). "Brearley Lodge". Historic Bridgeton. 1686–1936. pp. 24–25.
  5. 1 2 Sewall, Arthur F. (March 1977). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: General James Giles House". National Park Service.
  6. ↑ Giles, James, 1759–1825 information sourced from Library of Congress Authorities data, via corresponding Library of Congress Linked Data Service: linked authority record n87836271.