Winthrop Welles Ketcham (sometimes spelled Ketchum, June 29, 1820 – December 6, 1879) was a

United States 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 ...

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, ...

and a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, W.D. Pa.) is a federal trial court that sits in Pittsburgh, Erie, and Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It is composed of ten judges as authorized by federal ...

Education and career

Born on June 29, 1820, in

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in th ...

, Ketcham pursued classical studies. He was an instructor at

Wyoming Seminary , motto_translation = Truth, beauty, and goodness , address = 201 North Sprague Avenue , location = , region = , city = Kingston , county = Luzerne , st ...

in Kingston, Pennsylvania from 1844 to 1847, and at

Girard College Girard College is an independent college preparatory five-day boarding school located on a 43-acre campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school was founded and permanently endowed from the shipping and banking fortune of Stephen Girard upon h ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania in 1848 and 1849. He

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

in the offices of Lazarus Denison Shoemaker and

Charles Denison Charles Denison (January 23, 1818 – June 27, 1867) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Charles Denison (nephew of George Denison) was born in Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania. He received a liberal e ...

and was admitted to the bar January 8, 1850. He entered private practice in Wilkes-Barre from 1850 to 1855. Ketcham became 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 ...

when that party was first organized in 1854, having been a Whig prior to that time. He was

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 ...

for

Luzerne County Luzerne County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest county by total area. As of ...

, Pennsylvania from 1855 to 1858. 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 ...

in 1858. He was 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 ...

for the 10th district from 1859 to 1861. He was a delegate to the

1860 Events January–March * January 2 – The discovery of a hypothetical planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France. * January 10 – The Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, Massachusett ...

and

1864 Republican National Convention The 1864 National Union National Convention was the United States presidential nominating convention of the National Union Party, which was a name adopted by the main faction of the Republican Party in a coalition with many, if not most, War Dem ...

s. He resumed private practice in Wilkes-Barre from 1861 to 1863. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1864 to the

39th United States Congress The 39th 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, 1865, ...

. He was solicitor for the Court of Claims from 1864 to 1866. He again resumed private practice in Wilkes-Barre from 1867 to 1873. In 1868, he was a presidential elector from Pennsylvania, and cast his vote for

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

. In 1866, 1869, and 1872, he received votes in the Republican state conventions for the office of

Governor of Pennsylvania A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Congressional service

Ketcham was elected as a

from

Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district is located in southwestern Pennsylvania, which includes Pittsburgh and much of Allegheny County. It has been represented since January 3, 2023 by Summer Lee. Prior to 2018, the 12th district was locate ...

to the

United States 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

of the

44th United States Congress The 44th 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. ) , image_sk ...

and served from March 4, 1875, until July 19, 1876, when he resigned to accept a federal judicial appointment.

Federal judicial service

Ketcham was nominated by President

on June 7, 1876, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Wilson McCandless Wilson McCandless (June 19, 1810 – June 30, 1882) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Education and career Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, McCandless received a Ba ...

. He was confirmed by 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 ...

on June 26, 1876, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on December 6, 1879, due to his death 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 ...

, Pennsylvania. He was interred in Hollenback Cemetery in Wilkes-Barre.

Family

Ketcham's father, Lewis N. Ketcham, was a painter and cabinet-maker. At an early age Ketcham assisted his father in painting buildings in the city and lock-houses along the canal. In 1846, he married Sarah Urquhart, with whom he had a daughter, Ella, and a son, J. Marshall.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ketcham, Winthrop Welles 1820 births 1879 deaths 19th-century American judges 19th-century American politicians Burials in Pennsylvania Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania lawyers Pennsylvania prothonotaries Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law United States federal judges appointed by Ulysses S. Grant