James A. Norton
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James Albert Norton (November 11, 1843 – July 24, 1912) was a U.S. Representative from Ohio.
Born in Bettsville, Ohio, Norton attended the district schools and was graduated from the Tiffin High School. During the Civil War enlisted in the Union Army in August 1862. He was a sergeant in Company K, One Hundred and First Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was later promoted to first lieutenant and adjutant of the One Hundred and Twenty-third Regiment, United States Colored Infantry, in 1864. He mustered out of the service in 1865.
He studied medicine and commenced practice in Iowa in 1867. He continued in that profession until 1879. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1874. He served as member of the State house of representatives 1873-1879, serving as speaker in 1877 and 1878. He served as chairman of the State Democratic committee 1887-1892. County auditor 1885-1892. He served as commissioner of railroads and telegraphs from 1889 to 1895, when he resigned to accept a position in the legal department of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co..
Norton was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-fifth, Fifty-sixth, and Fifty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1897 - March 3, 1903). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1902 to the Fifty-eighth Congress. He resumed legal service with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.
He died in Tiffin, Ohio, July 24, 1912. He was interred in a mausoleum in Green Lawn Cemetery.
