John Wurts (August 13, 1792April 23, 1861) 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, ...

and a president of the

Delaware and Hudson Canal Company The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) is a railroad that operates in the Northeastern United States. In 1991, after more than 150 years as an independent railroad, the D&H was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP operates D&H ...

. John Wurts was born in

Flanders, New Jersey Flanders is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Mount Olive Township, in southwestern Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Flanders is served by the United States Postal Service as ZIP Code ...

. After his father's death in 1793 the family resided in

Montville, New Jersey Montville is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 21,528, reflecting an increase of 689 (+3.3%) from the 20,839 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in tu ...

, and subsequently moved to

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. He graduated from

Princeton College Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

in 1813, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1816 and commenced practice in Philadelphia. He was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1817 and served in the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1820. Wurts was elected to the Nineteenth Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination. He was United States district attorney from 1827 to 1831 and a member of the city council of Philadelphia. Along with his brothers William, Maurice, and Charles, he helped found the

and served as president from 1831 to 1858. He went abroad for his health in 1859 and died in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1861 (at the time of his death, Rome was under the direct rule of the Pope, with Italian unification not reaching completion until 1871). Interment in the family cemetery at Pleasant Mills, New Jersey, near Batsto, New Jersey.

Sources

The Political Graveyard

External links

Wurts family papers
at Hagley Museum and Library Philadelphia City Council members Princeton University alumni Pennsylvania state senators Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives People from Montville, New Jersey Politicians from Morris County, New Jersey 1792 births 1861 deaths Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 19th-century American politicians {{Pennsylvania-Representative-stub