Ephraim Leister Acker (January 11, 1827 – May 12, 1903) was an American newspaperman and educator who served one term as a Democratic member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from Pennsylvania from 1871 to 1873.

Early life and career

Ephraim L. Acker was born in

Marlborough Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Marlborough Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,178 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Upper Perkiomen School District. History In 1741, Marlboro Township was partitioned from the ...

. He attended the common schools and the academy at Sumneytown, a village in Marlborough Township. He graduated from Marshall College in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, in 1847. He was a school teacher for two years, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia in March 1852. He was editor and publisher of the ''Norristown Register'' from 1853 to 1877. He served as superintendent of the schools of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, from June 1854 to June 1860. He was appointed

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

Norristown, Pennsylvania Norristown is a municipality with home rule status and the county seat of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Montgomery County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the 7 ...

in March 1860 by President

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

and after serving eleven months was removed by President Abraham Lincoln. He served as inspector of Montgomery County Prison for three years.

Congress

Acker was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-second Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in

1872 Events January–March * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. * February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts on ...

Later career and death

He resumed the publication of his newspaper until 1877, when he began the study of law, graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1886. He was admitted to the bar and practiced until his death in Norristown in 1903. He was interred in Norris City Cemetery in East Norriton Township.

References

Sources

The Political Graveyard
1827 births 1903 deaths People from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Physicians from Pennsylvania Pennsylvania lawyers 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Pennsylvania postmasters Franklin & Marshall College alumni Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni 19th-century American politicians University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni {{Pennsylvania-Representative-stub