John Edwards (1786June 26, 1843) was an
Anti-Masonic and
Whig 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, ...
.
Biography
John Edwards (granduncle of
John E. Leonard) was born in
Glen Mills, Pennsylvania
Glen Mills is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Concord Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Concord Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States about 27 miles west of Philadelphia. T ...
. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1807 and commenced practice in
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census.
Incorporated in 1682, Chester i ...
. He was deputy attorney general for
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County, colloquially referred to as Delco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. With a population of 576,830 as of the 2020 census, it is the fifth-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the third=smallest in area.
Del ...
, in 1811. He moved to
West Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1825 and shortly thereafter engaged in the manufacture of iron and later of nails near
Glen Mills, Pennsylvania
Glen Mills is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Concord Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Concord Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States about 27 miles west of Philadelphia. T ...
.
Edwards was elected as an Anti-Masonic candidate to the
Twenty-sixth Congress and reelected as a Whig to the
Twenty-seventh Congress. After his time in congress, he resumed his former manufacturing pursuits, and died on his estate near Glen Mills in 1843. Interment in the Friends' (Hicksite) Cemetery of the
Middletown Friends Meetinghouse in
Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Middletown Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 15,807 at the 2010 census. The Pennsylvania State University has an undergraduate satellite campus called Penn State Brandywine located in the ...
.
Sources
The Political Graveyard
1786 births
1843 deaths
19th-century American lawyers
19th-century American politicians
Anti-Masonic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
Burials in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania lawyers
People from Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
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