John Alexander McNair (June 8, 1800 – August 12, 1861) was a teacher and

congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

representing Pennsylvania's fifth district. Born in

Bucks County, Pennsylvania Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the Englis ...

, he taught school and worked as principal of Loller Academy in

Hatboro, Pennsylvania Hatboro (known locally as the Boro) is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,238 at the 2020 census. History The town of Hatboro is located on land purchased from William Penn by the family of Nichol ...

in 1825. He established a boys school in the village of Abington, Pennsylvania. He served as clerk of the courts of

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Montgomery County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the 73rd-most populous county in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 856,55 ...

from 1845 to 1848 and moved to

Norristown, Pennsylvania Norristown is a municipality with home rule status and the county seat of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Montgomery County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the 7 ...

. McNair was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Thirty-second and Thirty-third Congresses. He served as chairman of the

United States House Committee on Manufactures United States House Committee on Manufactures was a standing committee of the U.S. House from 1819 to 1911. On December 8, 1819, an amendment was accepted in the House to separate the Committee on Commerce and Manufactures into the Committee on C ...

during the Thirty-third Congress. McNair settled on a plantation in

Prince William County, Virginia Prince William County is located on the Potomac River in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 482,204, making it Virginia's second-most populous county. Its county seat is the independent city of Manassas ...

, near Gainesville. He died at Evansport, Virginia, near Aquia Creek, in 1861.

Sources

1800 births 1861 deaths Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania People from Bucks County, Pennsylvania People from Norristown, Pennsylvania 19th-century American politicians People from Prince William County, Virginia {{Pennsylvania-Representative-stub