September 11, 1810 - April 19, 1890
James Pollock (1810-1890) graduated from Princeton College in 1831 and after studying law began his practice in Milton, Pennsylvania, in 1833. Following several judicial posts he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1844, where he served three successive terms. As a freshman congressman, Pollock boarded in the same rooming house as another new congressman, Abraham Lincoln, and they soon developed a mutual respect and longstanding friendship. Pollock was elected Governor of Pennsylvania, and served in that position from 1855 to 1858. He was Director of the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia from 1861 to 1866 and again from 1869 to 1873. Pollock was instructed by the Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase in a letter to come up with suggestions for including "the trust of our people in God" in a motto for America's coins. Pollock proposed a number of mottos, including "Our Trust Is In God" and "God Our Trust," which Chase ultimately revised to "In God We Trust," which appears on all U.S. coins and paper money to this day.