A native of
Grand Prairie,
Texas, James W. Elder attended the public schools and from 1895 to 1901
Baylor University in
Waco, Texas. He later studied
law, was admitted to the bar in 1903, and commenced practice in
Farmerville in
Union Parish,
Louisiana.
Early career Elder served as
mayor of Farmerville before he moved to
Monroe in
Ouachita Parish to continue his legal practice.
Politics He was a member of the
Louisiana State Senate for one term from 1908 to 1912 and was elected as a
Democrat to the
Sixty-third Congress, in which he served from March 4, 1913, to March 3, 1915. He was defeated for renomination in 1914 by
Riley J. Wilson.
Later career and death After leaving Congress, Elder returned to the practice of law in Farmerville. On January 1, 1925, he relocated to
Ruston, where he continued the practice of law until his death on December 16, 1941. He is interred at Greenwood Cemetery in Ruston. ==References==