James Kennedy Moorhead (September 7, 1806 – March 6, 1884) 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, ...

Biography

James K. Moorhead was born in

Halifax, Pennsylvania Halifax is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. Halifax was incorporated as a borough on May 29, 1785. It is situated at the confluence of Armstrong Creek and the Susquehanna River. The population was 795 at the 2020 census. ...

. He served an apprenticeship at the tanner’s trade, after which he became a canal contractor. He was superintendent and supervisor on the Juniata Canal in 1828, and projected and established the first passenger packet line on the Pennsylvania Canal in 1835.. Retrieved on 2009-5-12 In 1838 he was appointed adjutant general of Pennsylvania. He constructed the Monongahela Navigation Canal and was president of the company for twenty-one years. He was president of the Atlantic & Ohio Telegraph Co., which later became the

Western Union Telegraph Company The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company chang ...

. In his early political career he was a

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, but defected to the Know Nothings shortly after the fall elections of 1854. He was elected as a Republican to the 36th Congress and to the four succeeding Congresses. In Congress he served as chairman to Committee on Manufactures during the 38th and

39th 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 ...

es. On March 31, 1868, he

testified In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. La ...

in the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson, having been called as a

witness In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...

by the prosecution. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1868. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1868, and an unsuccessful candidate for election to 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 ...

in 1880. James K. Moorhead was the father of Pittsburgh financier Maxwell K. Moorhead, a member of the elite

South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club was a Pennsylvania corporation which operated an exclusive and secretive retreat at a mountain lake near South Fork, Pennsylvania, for more than fifty extremely wealthy men and their families. The club was ...

of Johnstown Flood fame. He was president of the chamber of commerce of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh from 1877 until his death in 1884, aged 77.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moorhead, James K. 1806 births 1884 deaths American transportation businesspeople Canal executives People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War Politicians from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Democrats Pennsylvania Know Nothings Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Burials at Allegheny Cemetery 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American businesspeople Testifying witnesses of the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson