George M. Wertz (July 19, 1856 – November 19, 1928) 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 ...

politician, teacher and publisher 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, ...

Formative years and family

George Munson Wertz was born near

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, whi ...

on July 19, 1856. He attended the public schools, Ebensburg Academy and the National Normal School in

Lebanon, Ohio Lebanon is a city in and the county seat of Warren County, Ohio, United States. The population was 20,841 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. History Lebanon is in the Symmes Purchase. The first European settler ...

. His father, German-Dunkard Jacob Wertz, an ardent Republican and

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

, was the great grandson of a 1735 Palatine immigrant and rose to prominence as a farmer. His daughter Ada Olive Hager (née Wertz) attended Vassar, graduating in 1908. She was one of the original graveyard suffragettes.

Career

A teacher in his community's public school system from 1876 to 1884, George M. Wertz was elected as a Republican member of the Board of School Directors in 1890. As he progressed in his political career, he became chair of his county's Republican Party committee. In 1893, Wertz began a three-year term as Cambria County commissioner, and in November 1897, Cambria County sheriff, a position he held until 1901. Through the influence of his iron manufacturer father-in-law, Wertz assumed a post as manager of the Cambria Steel Company, where his accomplishments included securing options for control of the Manufacturer's Water Company, Somerset County. A member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1909 to 1913, he served as the body's President pro tempore from 1911 to 1913. Wertz later organized and ran the ''Johnstown Daily Leader'' from 1911 to 1917, creating Cambria County's first afternoon newspaper. He was also an ardent farmer and fruit grower. Wertz was elected to the Sixty-eighth Congress, but was defeated in the 1924 Republican primary. He belonged to the Evangelical Lutheran Church; the Summit Lodge Masons; the Johnstown School of Instruction – Masons; and was knighted by the Oriental Commandery, No. 61, Knights Templar.

Death and interment

Wertz sold real estate until his death in Johnstown on November 19, 1928. He was interred in the

Grandview Cemetery, Johnstown Grandview Cemetery is a cemetery located at 801 Millcreek Road in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The cemetery association that operates Grandview was founded in 1885 to accommodate Johnstown's rapidly growing population. The first interment was that of ...

References

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wertz, George M Presidents pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators Pennsylvania sheriffs Schoolteachers from Pennsylvania American newspaper founders Politicians from Johnstown, Pennsylvania 1856 births 1928 deaths Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Journalists from Pennsylvania Cambria County Commissioners (Pennsylvania)