William Henry Koontz (July 15, 1830 – July 4, 1911) was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

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, ...

Life and career

Koontz was born in

Somerset, Pennsylvania Somerset is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Somerset County, Pennsylvania, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,046 at the 2020 census. The borough is surrounded by Somerset Township, Som ...

. He completed preparatory studies, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1851 and commenced practice in Somerset. He was district attorney for

Somerset County, Pennsylvania Somerset County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania German: ''Somerset Kaundi'') is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the po ...

, from 1853 to 1856. He was a delegate to the

1860 Republican National Convention The 1860 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that met May 16-18 in Chicago, Illinois. It was held to nominate the Republican Party's candidates for president and vice president in the 1860 election. The conven ...

. He served as

prothonotary The word prothonotary is recorded in English since 1447, as "principal clerk of a court," from L.L. ''prothonotarius'' ( c. 400), from Greek ''protonotarios'' "first scribe," originally the chief of the college of recorders of the court of the B ...

and clerk of the county court from 1861 to 1868. He successfully contested as a Republican the election of Alexander H. Coffroth to the Thirty-ninth Congress. He was reelected to the Fortieth Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination in

1868 Events January–March * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Jap ...

. He resumed the practice of law at Somerset and served as counsel for the

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

Co. He was 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 1899 to 1902. He died in Somerset in 1911. Interment in Union Cemetery.

Sources

The Political Graveyard
Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania lawyers Pennsylvania prothonotaries Baltimore and Ohio Railroad people 1830 births 1911 deaths Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers {{Pennsylvania-Representative-stub