John Edwards (1786June 26, 1843) was an Anti-Masonic and Whig 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 Edwards (granduncle of

John E. Leonard John Edwards Leonard (September 22, 1845 – March 15, 1878) was a United States representative from Louisiana. He was the grandnephew of John Edwards, who also served in Congress. He was born in Fairville, Pennsylvania, into a Quaker family. Leo ...

) was born in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. 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 is ...

. He was deputy attorney general for Delaware County, Pennsylvania, in 1811. He moved to

West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Located within the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,461 at the 2010 census. West Chester is the mailing address for most of its neighb ...

, in 1825 and shortly thereafter engaged in the manufacture of iron and later of nails near Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. 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 Middletown Preparative Friends Meetinghouse is a historic Quaker meeting house at 513 N Old Middletown Road in Lima, Pennsylvania, Lima, Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, De ...

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 {{Pennsylvania-Representative-stub