James W. Borden

James Wallace Borden (February 5, 1810 – April 25, 1882) was an American jurist in Indiana and diplomat.

James Wallace Borden was born near Beaufort, North Carolina on February 5, 1810. His father was Joseph Borden (1769–1825) and mother Esther Wallace (1771–1853). He was educated at Fairfeld Academy in Herkimer, New York and at Windsor, Connecticut. He read for and passed his bar exam in 1831. In 1835 he moved to Richmond, Indiana, and in 1839 to Fort Wayne, Indiana. He ran the federal land office in Fort Wayne, and was elected as judge of the 12th district of Indianain 1841. In 1850 he was a member of the Indiana state constitutional convention. He ran as a Democrat for the US Congress House of Representatives in 1851, but lost the general election. In 1852 he was elected again as judge.

Borden was appointed U.S. Commissioner to the Kingdom of Hawaii by James Buchanan on January 11, 1858. He presented his credentials on May 21, 1858 to King Kamehameha IV. The king made a welcoming speech, but the situation was a tense peace between Scottish-born Hawaii foreign minister Robert Crichton Wyllie and US Secretary of State Lewis Cass. There was a minor territorial dispute over the remote Johnston Atoll. A highlight was the visit on March 5, 1860 of the USS Powhatan which included Japanese ambassadors on a visit to the United States. President Abraham Lincoln appointed Thomas J. Dryer to be the new Commissioner to Hawaii, and Borden was recalled on June 8, 1861.

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