James Lawrence Getz (September 14, 1821 – December 25, 1891) was an American newspaperman and politician who served three terms as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

from 1867 to 1873.

Biography

James L. Getz was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. He pursued an academic course, and was one of the founders of the ''Reading Gazette'' in 1840. He purchased the ''

Jeffersonian Democrat Jeffersonian democracy, named after its advocate Thomas Jefferson, was one of two dominant political outlooks and movements in the United States from the 1790s to the 1820s. The Jeffersonians were deeply committed to American republicanism, which ...

'' and merged the two papers under the name of the ''Reading Gazette and Democrat'', disposing of his interests in 1868. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1846 but never practiced.

Political career

He was a member of the

Pennsylvania State House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

in 1856 and 1857 and served as

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

during the latter year. Getz was elected as a Democrat to the Fortieth, Forty-first, and Forty-second Congresses. He was not a candidate for renomination 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

After leaving Congress, he again engaged in the newspaper business. He served as city comptroller of Reading from 1888 until his death there in 1891. He is interred in Reading's

Charles Evans Cemetery Charles Evans Cemetery is an historic, nonsectarian, garden-style cemetery located in the city of Reading, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Charles Evans (1768-1847), a son of Quaker parents and native of Philadelphia who became a prominent attorn ...

Sources

The Political Graveyard
1821 births 1891 deaths 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) Burials at Charles Evans Cemetery Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Speakers of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives American newspaper founders Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 19th-century American journalists Politicians from Reading, Pennsylvania American male journalists 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American politicians Journalists from Pennsylvania {{Pennsylvania-Representative-stub