Born in Ivy Depot, Albemarle County, Virginia, James Garland was the eldest of four sons born to Hudson Martin Garland and his wife, the former Elizabeth Penn Garland. His mother was the grandniece of William Penn. His father was one of many lawyer Garlands in Albemarle County, but moved to Amherst Countyafter the death of his father in 1781. Hudson Garland represented Amherst County in the Virginia General Assembly for one term ; his daughter had become the wife of Lt. Confederate General James Longstreet. Another brother, Samuel Garland Sr., became a successful lawyer in Lynchburg, as well as a landowner, and the uncle of Confederate Brig. General Samuel Garland, Jr.. This James Garland received a private education and began reading law, and married Sarah Burch in the newly created Nelson County on September 22, 1814. They had at least one daughter who survived them. By 1820, the Garland household included five free people and nine slaves.
Career
After reading law and being admitted to the Virginia bar, Garland began practicing law practice in Lovingston, Virginia, the seat of Nelson County. He left practice for a short time to serve in the War of 1812. James Garland represented Nelson County in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1829 to 1831. He was later elected to the United States House of Representatives, initially as a Jacksonian Democrat and later a Conservative, serving from 1835 to 1841. After losing a contest for reelection in 1840 to Virginia governor Thomas W. Gilmer, a Whig, Garland moved to Campbell County, Virginia and resumed his legal practice in Lynchburg. Garland was elected the city's prosecutor and clerk of court in 1841, and served 18 years until removed by Gen. John Schofield during Congressional Reconstruction. In the Presidential election of 1860, he supported Stephen A. Douglas, and when that Democratic candidate lost to Republican Abraham Lincoln, Garland in January 1861 presided over a meeting of conservative citizens who wanted to preserve the Union. He was then elected to the Hustings Court, and Aurelius Christian succeeded him as Commonwealth's attorney. He retired due to blindness at age 91, after a ceremonial dinner in his honor, and was succeeded by Charles P. Latham.
Death and legacy
After leaving the court, James Garland died in Lynchburg on August 8, 1885, aged 94. The courthouse bell tolled to mark his funeral, and suitable resolutions were recorded. He was interred in the family plot at Lynchburg's Spring Hill Cemetery, beside his wife Sarah, who had died in 1861, as well as his parents and siblings. He was survived by his widowed daughter Sally Garland Christian.
