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Westcott, James Diament

lawyer, United States senator, was born May 10, 1802, in Alexandria, Va. He was appointed secretary of the territory of Florida, and held the office four years, performing the duties of the governor during his temporary absence. He was a member of the territorial legislature in 1832, and was appointed United States district attorney for the middle district of the territory, which office he held until 1836. He was again a member of the legislature, and a member of the convention for framing a state constitution in 1838 and 1839. On the admission of Florida into the union as a state, in 1845, he was elected a senator in congress, and served until 1849.