Joseph Hemphill (January 7, 1770May 29, 1842) was an American politician who served as a

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

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 ...

for

Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district Pennsylvania's third congressional district includes several areas of the city of Philadelphia, including West Philadelphia, most of Center City, and parts of North Philadelphia. It has been represented by Democrat Dwight Evans since 2019. With ...

from 1801 to 1803, as a Jackson Federalist representative for

Pennsylvania's 1st congressional district Pennsylvania's first congressional district includes all of Bucks County and a sliver of Montgomery County in southeastern Pennsylvania. It has been represented by Brian Fitzpatrick since 2019. The state congressional district map was redrawn ...

from 1819 to 1823 and as a Jacksonian representative for

Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district Pennsylvania's second congressional district includes all of Northeast Philadelphia and parts of North Philadelphia east of Broad Street, as well as portions of Philadelphia's River Wards. It has been represented by Democrat Brendan Boyle since 2 ...

from 1829 to 1831. He also served as 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 ...

from 1797 to 1800, in 1805 and from 1831 to 1832.

Early life and education

Hemphill was born on January 7, 1770, to Joseph and Ann (Wills) Hemphill in Thornbury Township in the

Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to W ...

. He graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Philadelphia 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 ...

in 1791. He studied law under Thomas Ross, was admitted to the bar in 1793 and began to practice law in

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 ...

Political career

Hemphill served as a member of the

from 1797 to 1800. He was elected as a

member representing Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district in the

Seventh Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season e ...

Congress from 1801 to 1803. He moved to Philadelphia in 1803, and again was a member of the State House of Representatives in 1805. He was appointed the first president judge of the district court of the city and county of

. He was elected as a Federalist member representing

in the

Sixteenth The 16th century begins with the Julian calendar, Julian year 1501 (Roman numerals, MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian year 1600 (Roman numerals, MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar ...

and Seventeenth Congresses from 1819 to 1823. He was elected as a Jackson Federalist member representing

in the Eighteenth Congress, and reelected as a Jacksonian to the Nineteenth Congress, from 1823 until his resignation in 1826. He was elected as a Jacksonian member representing

in the Twenty-first Congress from 1829 to 1831. He was a member of the State House of Representatives in 1831 and 1832. Hemphill introduced a bill in 1824 which called for the usage of military personnel to conduct surveys and estimate costs for construction of roads and canals. He was an anti-slavery advocate and gave a speech to Congress against slavery, especially in Missouri. He declared slavery to be "the forcible oppression of otherwise powerless people". During the Congressional debate about the

Indian Removal Act The Indian Removal Act was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States President Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, and for ...

, Hemphill was split between his support for President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

and his Quaker constituency's opposition to the law. He proposed delaying implementation of the act in order to conduct surveys of the land the Native Americans were to be moved to, but his proposal was voted down.

Business career

In 1831, Hemphill's son, Alexander, entered into a business partnership with

William Ellis Tucker William Ellis Tucker (died 1832) was an American craftsman who became the first person to successfully produce hard paste porcelain for the home market made entirely in the United States of purely domestic materials. There had been several previ ...

for his porcelain factory in Philadelphia. Tucker died in 1832 and the firm was joined by Joseph and his brother Thomas. The factory continued production under the Hemphill name until it closed in 1838.

Personal life

He purchased the

Historic Strawberry Mansion Historic Strawberry Mansion is a summer home in East Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was originally named Summerville by Judge William Lewis who had it built sometime between 1783 and 1789.William Lewis William or Willie Lewis may refer to: Politicians * William Lewis (MP for Anglesey) (by 1526–1601 or later), MP for Anglesey in 1553 and 1555 * William Lewis (MP for Helston), MP for Helston in 1584 * William Lewis (MP for King's Lynn) (died 15 ...

in 1821 and used it as his summer home. He added the

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

wings to the structure and was known to entertain

John C. Calhoun John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist from South Carolina who held many important positions including being the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. He ...

from South Carolina and the

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revoluti ...

from France. In September, 1806, he married Margaret Coleman, daughter of the wealthy industrialist Robert Coleman from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Joseph Hemphill tombstone

He died in Philadelphia on May 28, 1842, and was interred at

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

. A descendant,

Alexander Hemphill Alexander Hemphill (May 22, 1921 – January 30, 1986) was a Democratic lawyer and politician from Philadelphia who served as City Controller from 1958 to 1968. After service in World War II and graduation from the University of Pennsylvania Law ...

, served as

City Controller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level executi ...

for Philadelphia from 1958 to 1968.

Bibliography

Mr. Hemphill's speech in the House of Representatives, on the 14th of January, 1823, on the following bill: To procure the necessary surveys, plans and estimates, on the subject of roads and canals.
Washington, D.C., D. Rapine, 1823
Mr. Hemphill's speech on the bill to construct a national road from Buffalo, passing by the seat of the general government, to New Orleans. Delivered in the House of Representatives, U.S. 23d March, 1830.
Washington, D.C., Wm. Greer printer, 1830

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hemphill, Joseph 1770 births 1842 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American politicians American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Businesspeople from Philadelphia Ceramics manufacturers of the United States Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania district justices Pennsylvania Federalists Pennsylvania lawyers People from Chester County, Pennsylvania Politicians from Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania alumni