John Black Packer (March 21, 1824 – July 7, 1891) was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

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 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, ...

Biography

John B. Packer was born in

Sunbury, Pennsylvania Sunbury is a city and county seat of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in Central Pennsylvania's Susquehanna Valley on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, just downstream of the confluence of its main and west ...

on March 21, 1824. Initially a private student, he later attended the Sunbury Academy in

. From 1839 to 1842, he served with the corps of engineers that was employed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the survey and construction of public improvements. After completed law studies, Packer was admitted to the bar on August 6, 1844, and began his legal practice in Sunbury, where he was also engaged in banking. Deputy attorney general of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 1845 to 1847, he subsequently served in 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 1850 and 1851. He also became one of the organizers of the Susquehanna Railroad Company in 1851. Packer was then elected as a Republican to the forty-first and to the three succeeding Congresses. He served as chairman of the

United States House Committee on Railways and Canals The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more than ...

during the Forty-second Congress and

United States House Committee on Post Office and Post Roads The United States House Committee on Post Office and Post Roads was a congressional committee which existed until 1946. A Select Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads was established in 1806 and made a standing committee in 1808 during the ...

during the Forty-third Congress. After declining to be a candidate for renomination in

1876 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. * February 2 – The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs is ...

, he resumed the practice of law in Sunbury, as well as his banking activities. He died in Sunbury on July 7, 1891 and was interred at the Pomfret Manor Cemetery in Sunbury.Kestenbaum, Lawrence. "Packer, John Black" (biography), ''The Political Graveyard'', 1996.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Packer, John B. Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania lawyers 1824 births 1891 deaths Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American lawyers