Simon Peter Wolverton (January 28, 1837 – October 25, 1910) was an American lawyer and
Democratic politician who served two terms as a
U.S. Representative
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 c ...
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, ...
from 1891 to 1895.
Early life and education
Simon Peter Wolverton was born in Rush Township,
Northumberland County, Pennsylvania
Northumberland County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,647. Its county seat is Sunbury.
The county was formed in 1772 from parts of Lancas ...
on January 28, 1837. He attended the common schools and Danville Academy, and later graduated from Lewisburg University, also known as
Bucknell University
Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering ...
in
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Lewisburg is a borough in Union County, Pennsylvania, United States, south by southeast of Williamsport and north of Harrisburg. In the past, it was the commercial center for a fertile grain and general farming region. The population was 5,1 ...
. He was principal of Sunbury Academy from 1860 to 1862.
Wolverton studied law and was called to the bar in 1862. He began his legal practice in
Sunbury, Pennsylvania
Sunbury is a city and county seat of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in Central Pennsylvania's Susquehanna Valley on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, just downstream of the confluence of its main and west ...
.
Civil War
During the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
Wolverton raised a company of emergency men, of which he was appointed captain in 1862. He served in the Eighteenth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. He was later chosen as captain of Company F, Thirty-Sixth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers in June 1863.
Political career
After the war he was elected to the
Pennsylvania 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 ...
, serving three terms from 1879 to 1891.
He was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
in the joint convention of 1884.
He was elected to the
52nd Congress
The 52nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1891, ...
and the
53rd Congress (March 4, 1891 - March 3, 1895). He failed to be renominated in 1894.
Later career and death
After Congress, he continued to practice law in Sunbury until his death on October 25, 1910.
He was interred in Sunbury's
Pomfret Manor Cemetery.
See also
Notes
References
Retrieved on 2008-02-15
The Political Graveyard
1837 births
1910 deaths
Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Pennsylvania lawyers
Union Army officers
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
19th-century American politicians
19th-century American lawyers
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