James H. Piles

James H. Piles was a teacher, school principal, lawyer, and state legislator in Mississippi.

He was born c. 1842 in Springfield, Ohio, and before attending Oberlin College, worked as a barber. He left Mississippi after Reconstruction ended and worked in Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tennessee.

He represented Panola County in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1870 to 1875 as a Republican. He served as Assistant Secretary of State in 1875.