William Marks (October 13, 1778April 10, 1858) was an American lawyer and politician from

Beaver, Pennsylvania Beaver is a borough in and the county seat of Beaver County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located at the confluence of the Beaver and Ohio Rivers, approximately northwest of Pittsburgh. As of the 2020 census, the borough population ...

. He served in both houses in the state legislature and was the Speaker for the House from 1813 to 1819. He later represented

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, ...

in 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 ...

Life and career

He was born on October 13, 1778, in

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the De ...

and moved with his father to

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Allegheny County () is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, following Philadelphia Co ...

in his early childhood. He received little formal schooling and trained in the trade of

leather tanning Tanning is the process of treating skins and hides of animals to produce leather. A tannery is the place where the skins are processed. Tanning hide into leather involves a process which permanently alters the protein structure of skin, makin ...

. Marks subsequently studied law and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

. He practiced law in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and held several local offices, including

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

of Allegheny County, and was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where he served from 1810 to 1819. He served as

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

beginning in 1813. In 1814, Marks served as commander of the

Pennsylvania Militia The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the oldest and largest National Guards in the United States Department of Defense. It traces its roots to 1747 when Benjamin Franklin established the Associators in Philadelphia. With more than 18,000 per ...

. He was subsequently 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 ev ...

in 1820, serving until 1825. Marks was elected to the United States Senate as a National Republican in 1824 and assumed office in March 1825. After unsuccessfully seeking reelection, his term expired in March 1831. He served as chairman of the Committee on Engrossed Bills and Committee on Agriculture during his tenure as U.S. Senator. After his term in the U.S. Senate, Marks resumed practicing law in Pittsburgh, after which he moved to Beaver, Pennsylvania and retired to private life in 1850. He died in Beaver on April 10, 1858, and was interred in the old Buffalo Street cemetery in the McCreery lot.

References

External links

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, William 1778 births 1858 deaths People from Chester County, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania National Republicans National Republican Party United States senators from Pennsylvania Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Speakers of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania state senators