James Xavier McLanahan
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James Xavier McLanahan (May 17, 1809December 16, 1861) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives for
Pennsylvania's 16th congressional district Pennsylvania's 16th congressional district is located in Northwestern Pennsylvania. It contains all of Erie County, Crawford County, Mercer County, and Lawrence County, as well as part of Butler County. The district is represented by Republic ...
from 1849 to 1853.


Early life and education

McLanahan was born near
Greencastle, Pennsylvania Greencastle is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, Franklin County in south-central Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,996 at the 2010 census. Greencastle lies within the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylv ...
to William and Mary (Gregg) McLanahan. He was the grandson of Pennsylvania Senator
Andrew Gregg Andrew Gregg (June 10, 1755May 20, 1835) was an American politician. A Democratic-Republican, he served as a United States Senator for Pennsylvania from 1807 until 1813. Prior to that, he served as a U.S. Representative from 1791 until 1807. Fr ...
and second cousin to Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Gregg Curtin. He graduated from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1827. He studied law under George Chambers who went on to become a Congressman and Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice. He was admitted to the bar in 1837 and commenced practice in
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 ...
.


Career

He served as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 14th district from 1841 to 1842 and for the 18th district from 1843 to 1844. McLanahan was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-first and Thirty-second Congresses. He was the chairman of the
United States House Committee on the Judiciary The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administra ...
during the Thirty-second Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1852. He resumed the practice of law and died in New York City in 1861. Interment in First Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.


Footnotes


Sources


The Political Graveyard
, - 1809 births 1861 deaths 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians American Presbyterians Burials in Pennsylvania Dickinson College alumni Pennsylvania lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators People from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania {{Pennsylvania-Representative-stub