John Dick (June 17, 1794 – May 29, 1872) was an American politician and judge. He represented

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, ...

as a Whig, a member of the

Opposition Party Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...

and 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 ...

in the

United States 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 ...

Biography

John Dick was born on June 17, 1794, in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, Pennsylvania. With his parents, he moved to Meadville, Pennsylvania while less than a year old, in December 1794. He attended and received his education at the

common schools A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretary ...

. He served as major of the First Battalion of the Pennsylvania Militia in 1821. Dick then served as colonel of the First Regiment in 1825 before becoming brigadier general of the Second Brigade, Sixteenth Division of the Pennsylvania Militia in 1831. After his militia service, he moved into mercantile business and

banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becau ...

, establishing the banking house J.&J.R. Dick in 1850. He subsequently served as associate judge of

Crawford County, Pennsylvania Crawford County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 83,938. Its county seat is Meadville. The county was created on March 12, 1800, from part of Allegheny County and named for Colonel W ...

and was a supporter of the

Atlantic and Great Western Railroad The Atlantic and Great Western Railroad began as three separate railroads: the Erie and New York City Railroad based in Jamestown, New York; the Meadville Railroad based in Meadville, Pennsylvania (renamed A&GW in April 1858); and the Franklin and ...

. Dick also served as a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...

Allegheny College he, תגל ערבה ותפרח כחבצלת , mottoeng = "Add to your faith, virtue and to your faith, knowledge" (2 Peter 1:5)"The desert shall rejoice and the blossom as the rose" (Isaiah 35:1) , faculty = 193 ...

and president of Crawford Mutual Insurance Company. Dick was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Whig in 1852 for the 33rd Congress. He was reelected in 1854 as an Opposition Party candidate to the 34th Congress. In 1856, Dick was reelected as a Republican to the 35th Congress. He was renominated by the Republican Party in 1858 but withdrew his name from the election and resumed business interests. He was married, November 16, 1830, to Jane Torbett, and had six children. Son George was as cadet at West Point in 1850, assigned to duty in Texas in Col. Robert E. Lee’s regiment, and died in 1856. Son J. Henry died at the age of eighteen. His son, Samuel Bernard Dick, was a Union Colonel in the Civil War. Dick died in Meadville, Pennsylvania on May 29, 1872, and was interred in Greendale Cemetery.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dick, John 1794 births 1872 deaths Politicians from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Whigs Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century American politicians Opposition Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Burials at Greendale Cemetery