John Sheridan Weller (November 1, 1866 in

Southampton Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania Southampton Township is a township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 604 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography According to the United States ...

– September 26, 1944 in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

) was an American attorney and politician.

Formative years and family

Born in

on November 1, 1866, Weller was a son of Frederick Simon Weller and Mary Ann Hammer. He attended the Bedford County Public Schools and married Sara Barbara Mercer. The couple had no children. In 1889, he graduated from

Pennsylvania State College The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

as a civil engineer.

Career

Weller began working for the

United States Coast and Geodetic Survey The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (abbreviated USC&GS), known from 1807 to 1836 as the Survey of the Coast and from 1836 until 1878 as the United States Coast Survey, was the first scientific agency of the United States Government. It ...

shortly after his graduation from Penn State, and was admitted to the bar of

Bedford County, Pennsylvania Bedford County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,577. The county seat is Bedford. History In 1750 Robert MacRay, a Scots-Irish immigrant, opened the first trading post in Raystown (w ...

in 1891, following his completion of legal studies. From 1894 to 1897, he served as a district attorney for Bedford County, and in 1898 was elected a member of the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

from the 36th District. In autumn of 1901, he moved to

, where he became a partner in the law firm Weller, Wicks and Wallace, during which time he specialized in oil and gas property law and often represented Mike Benedum and oil field developer

Joe Trees Joseph Clifton Trees was a college football player at the University of Pittsburgh, the first athlete to receive an athletic subsidization at the school, and, possibly, an early professional football player. He later made millions of dollars in ...

."Heiress' Fortune Climaxes Tragic Life", ''

The Pittsburgh Press ''The Pittsburgh Press'' (formerly ''The Pittsburg Press'' and originally ''The Evening Penny Press'') was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1884 to 1992. At one time, the ''Press'' was the second larg ...

'', December 3, 1953, p. 36.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weller, John Sheridan Pennsylvania lawyers People from Somerset County, Pennsylvania 1866 births 1944 deaths