James Thompson Farley (August 6, 1829 – January 22, 1886) was a United States Senator from California.

[1] Drawn by the discovery of gold and hastened by a duel in which he nearly killed a man who had been his rival for a woman's affections, Farley moved to California in 1849.

[3] He was elected to the California State Assembly from Amador County at the age of 25 as a member of the Whig Party.

[3] He resumed the practice of law after leaving Washington, D.C., and died in Jackson, California in 1886 after three years of struggling with illness.

"[4] His law practice in Jackson served as a launching pad for other California politicians such as Judge Henry L. Waldo who became the district attorney of Amador County from 1867 until 1870, as well as Anthony Caminetti, who also became the district attorney of Amador County but later became a United States representative from California from 1891 to 1895.