DAVIS, John Wesley (1799-1859)
Democrat of Indiana 
6th congressional district
Served in House 1835-1837 , 1839-1841 , 1843-1847
Biography
Representative from Indiana; born in New Holland, Lancaster County, Pa., April 16, 1799; moved to Cumberland County, Pa., with his parents, who settled near Shippensburg; completed preparatory studies; studied medicine; graduated from the Baltimore Medical College in 1821; moved to Carlisle, Ind., in 1823 and practiced medicine; surrogate of Sullivan County 1829-1831; member of the Indiana state house of representatives, 1831-1833, and served as speaker in 1831; commissioner to negotiate an Indian treaty in 1834; elected as a Jacksonian candidate to the Twenty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1835-March 3, 1837); declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1836 because of ill health; elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-sixth Congress (March 4, 1839-March 3, 1841); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1840 to the Twenty-seventh Congress; member of the Indiana state house of representatives, 1841-1843, and served as speaker in 1841; elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth Congresses (March 4, 1843-March 3, 1847); chair, Committee on Public Lands (Twenty-eighth Congress); Speaker of the House (Twenty-ninth Congress); was not a candidate for renomination in 1846; appointed by President Polk United States Commissioner to China and served from 1848 to 1851, when his successor was appointed; member of the Indiana state house of representatives, 1851-1852, and again in 1857; delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1852; appointed by President Pierce as Governor of Oregon Territory, 1853-1854; member of the Board of Visitors to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1858; died in Carlisle, Sullivan County, Ind., August 22, 1859; interment in the City Cemetery.Courtesy of Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
Notice: By custom, the Speaker of the House rarely votes. Votes for DAVIS, John Wesley may appear to be missing as a result.
