Wilson Reilly (August 8, 1811 – August 26, 1885) was 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, ...

Biography

Wilson Reilly was born in

Waynesboro, Pennsylvania Waynesboro is a borough in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, on the southern border of the state. Waynesboro is in the Cumberland Valley between Hagerstown, Maryland, and Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. It is part of Chambersburg, PA Micropolitan Sta ...

. He attended the common schools, and was engaged as a

hatter Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...

in Waynesboro and

Chambersburg, Pennsylvania Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, and north of Maryland and the ...

. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1837 and commenced practice in Chambersburg. He served as prosecuting attorney of

Franklin County, Pennsylvania Franklin County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 155,932 Its county seat is Chambersburg. Franklin County comprises the Chambersburg–Waynesboro, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, whi ...

, from 1842 to 1845. He was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for election in

1854 Events January–March * January 4 – The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the ''Samarang''. * January 6 – The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is perhaps born. * January 9 – The ...

. Reilly was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fifth Congress. He served as chairman of the

United States House Committee on Expenditures in the Department of War United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

during the Thirty-fifth Congress. He was unsuccessful candidate for reelection in

1858 Events January–March * January – ** Benito Juárez (1806–1872) becomes Liberal President of Mexico. At the same time, conservatives install Félix María Zuloaga (1813–1898) as president. ** William I of Prussia becomes regen ...

. He became captain of the McClure Rifles and joined the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps at Camp Curtin in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He resumed the practice of law. In 1885, he and died in Chambersburg and was buried in Falling Spring Cemetery.

References

* Retrieved on 2008-02-14
The Political Graveyard
Politicians from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania lawyers Union Army officers American milliners 1811 births 1885 deaths People from Waynesboro, Pennsylvania Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers Military personnel from Pennsylvania {{Pennsylvania-Representative-stub