John Mitchell (March 8, 1781 – August 3, 1849) was a 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, ...

Background

John Mitchell was born near

Newport, Pennsylvania Newport is a borough in Perry County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,487 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Newport was originally known as Ryder's Ferry, as ...

. He moved to

Bellefonte, Pennsylvania Bellefonte is a borough in, and the county seat of, Centre County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is approximately twelve miles northeast of State College and is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The boro ...

, in 1800 and was employed as a clerk in the ironworks. He was elected

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

Centre County, Pennsylvania Centre County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,172. Its county seat is Bellefonte. Centre County comprises the State College, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The lands ...

, in 1818. He worked as an engineer and surveyor and laid out the Centre and Kishacoquillas Turnpike in 1821 and constructed many of the turnpikes in middle and northern Pennsylvania. He was a member of the

Pennsylvania 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 1822 and 1823. Mitchell was elected as a Jacksonian to the Nineteenth and Twentieth Congresses. After his time in congress, Mitchell surveyed proposed canal routes between the Susquehanna and

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...

s in 1826. He was an engineer on the Erie extension in 1827 and canal commissioner in 1829. He moved to

Bridgewater, Pennsylvania Bridgewater is a borough in central Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, at the confluence of the Beaver and Ohio rivers. The population was 744 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The borough is best known ...

, in 1842 and engaged in civil engineering and iron manufacturing. He was member of the canal survey commission from 1845 until his death in Bridgewater in 1849. Interment in Old Beaver Cemetery.

Sources

The Political Graveyard
1781 births 1849 deaths Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives American surveyors Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 19th-century American politicians People from Newport, Pennsylvania {{Pennsylvania-Representative-stub