James Kendrick Batchelder (1842–1925) was a Vermont lawyer and politician. Batchelder was born on November 10, 1842, in Peru, Vermont, the son of Ira K. and Nancy (Barnard) Batchelder. Batchelder attended Burr and Burton Seminary and attended Middlebury College, where he became a member of Chi Psi, graduating in 1864 with an A.B. He attended Albany Law School and was admitted to the bar at Bennington in 1866. He married Alta Parsons on October 27, 1868, in Arlington, Vermont. Batchelder served five terms in the Vermont House of Representatives, including a term as Speaker from 1884-1886.