Home County: Clinton

Term of service at the Supreme Court of Missouri: March 1849 - August 1851

Judge James Harvey Birch was born March 27, 1804, in Montgomery County, Virginia.[i] His family moved from Virginia to Kentucky when Birch was 17 years old.[ii] Birch began his study in the law office of the Honorable John Trimble, who was a judge on the Supreme Court of Kentucky at the time.[iii] In 1825, after being admitted to the bar, Birch moved to Missouri, settling initially in St. Louis.[iv] In July 1827, he moved once again, to Fayette, Missouri, where he established the Western Monitor.[v]

Birch was first elected to public office as the clerk of the lower house of the General Assembly from 1828-1829.[vi] The following session, he rose to become secretary of the Missouri state senate.[vii] In 1834, Birch was elected to represent Howard County in the senate.[viii] He resigned from this position before his term was completed, however, to focus on his private endeavors and the publication of his paper.[ix] In 1843, he was appointed by President Tyler as register of the land office at Plattsburg, Missouri, where he subsequently settled.[x]

Birch was appointed to the Supreme Court of Missouri March 19, 1849, but did not seek reelection in August 1851 election.[xi] Instead, he returned to his post as register of the land office at Plattsburg, Missouri.[xii] He was elected to serve at the Missouri State Convention of 1861, where he stood in favor of Missouri remaining in the Union.[xiii]

He died in March 1878 at his home near Plattsburg.[xiv]