Joseph Scofield Ammerman (July 14, 1924 – October 14, 1993) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a Democratic 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, ...

for one term from 1977 to 1979.

Early life

Joseph Ammerman was born in

Curwensville, Pennsylvania Curwensville is a borough in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States, north of Altoona on the West Branch Susquehanna River. Coal mining, tanning, and the manufacture of fire bricks were the industries at the turn of the 20th century. In 1 ...

. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1943 to 1946. He graduated from

Dickinson College , mottoeng = Freedom is made safe through character and learning , established = , type = Private liberal arts college , endowment = $645.5 million (2022) , president = J ...

Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

in 1948 and received his J.D. from the

Dickinson School of Law Penn State Dickinson Law, formerly Dickinson School of Law, is a public law school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It is one of two separately accredited law schools of The Pennsylvania State University. According to Penn State Dickinson Law's 2019 ...

in 1950.

Career

He was a delegate to

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

in 1952. In 1953, he was elected to the position of district attorney of Clearfield County. He was the United States attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania from 1961 to 1963, and 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 1970 to 1977. In 1976, he was elected as a Democrat to the

95th Congress The 95th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1977, ...

, but was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1978. After his term in the House, he served as judge, court of common pleas in

Clearfield County, Pennsylvania Clearfield County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 80,562. The county seat is Clearfield, and the largest city is DuBois. The county was created in 1804 and later organized in 1822. ...

from 1986 to 1993.

Death and legacy

Ammerman died on October 14, 1993. In 2009, a portrait of Ammerman was hung in the portrait gallery of the Clearfield County Courthouse.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ammerman, Joseph S. 1924 births 1993 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians Dickinson School of Law alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators People from Clearfield County, Pennsylvania United States Attorneys for the Western District of Pennsylvania 20th-century American judges Judges of the Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas Military personnel from Pennsylvania