Biography
Representative from Pennsylvania; born in Erie, Erie County, Pa., April 3, 1803; attended the public schools and was graduated from Washington College, Washington, Pa.; studied law; was admitted to the bar in Philadelphia in 1824 but did not practice; engaged in business in Erie with his father, an owner of vessels on the Great Lakes; appointed colonel of militia in 1831 and brigadier general at the expiration of his commission; member of the State house of representatives in 1837 and 1838; elected as a Whig to the Twenty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1843-March 3, 1845); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1844 to the Twenty-ninth Congress; resumed shipping on the Great Lakes; also engaged in banking, mercantile pursuits, and railroad business 1846-1849; died in Erie, Pa., December 16, 1871; interment in Erie Cemetery.
Courtesy of Biographical Directory of the United States Congress