John Weinland Killinger (September 18, 1824 – June 30, 1896) was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for

Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district is located in the south-central region of the state. It encompasses all of Dauphin County as well as parts of Cumberland County and York County. The district includes the cities of Harrisburg and York ...

from 1859 to 1863 and from 1871 to 1875. He also served as a member of

Pennsylvania's 14th congressional district Pennsylvania's 14th congressional district is located in the southwestern part of the state and includes all of Fayette County, Greene County, and Washington County, as well as the western part of Westmoreland County. It is represented by Re ...

from 1877 to 1881.

Early life and education

John W. Killinger was born in Annville, Pennsylvania to John and Fanny Killinger. He attended the public schools of Annville and the Lebanon Academy in

Lebanon, Pennsylvania Lebanon () is a city in and the county seat of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,814 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in the central part of the Lebanon Valley, east of Harrisburg and west of Reading. ...

. He graduated from the Mercersburg Preparatory School in

Mercersburg, Pennsylvania Mercersburg is a borough in Franklin County, located near the southern border of Pennsylvania, United States. The borough is southwest of Harrisburg, the state capital. Due to its location in a rural area, it had a relatively large percenta ...

, and from

Franklin & Marshall College Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It employs 175 full-time faculty members and has a student body of approximately 2,400 full-time students. It was founded upon the merger of Frank ...

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...

, in 1843. He studied law in Lancaster, was admitted to the bar in 1846 and practiced in

Lebanon County, Pennsylvania Lebanon County ( Pennsylvania Dutch: Lebanon Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 133,568. Its county seat is the city of Lebanon. The county was formed from portions of Dauphin ...

, from 1846 to 1886.

Career

He served as prosecuting attorney for Lebanon County in 1848 and 1849. He was a member of the

Pennsylvania State 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 1850 and 1851, and served in 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 Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealt ...

for the 7th district from 1854 to 1857. He was a delegate to the

1856 Republican National Convention The 1856 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that met from June 17 to June 19 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the first national nominating convention of the Republican Party, which had been founded two ...

. Killinger was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh Congresses. He served as a chairman of the

United States House Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office Department The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful panels in t ...

during the Thirty-seventh Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination in

1862 Events January–March * January 1 – The United Kingdom annexes Lagos Island, in modern-day Nigeria. * January 6 – French intervention in Mexico: French, Spanish and British forces arrive in Veracruz, Mexico. * January ...

. He served as assessor of internal revenue from 1864 to 1866. Killinger was again elected to the Forty-second and Forty-third Congresses. He was not a candidate for renomination in

1874 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War &ndash ...

. He resumed the practice of law. He was again elected to the Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth Congresses. He was not a candidate for renomination in

1880 Events January–March * January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia. * January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy. * February � ...

. He served as solicitor for the

Philadelphia and Reading Railroad The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail. Commonly called ...

. He died in

in 1896 and is interred at the Mount Lebanon Cemetery.

Notes

Sources

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Killinger, John Weinland 1824 births 1896 deaths 19th-century American legislators Franklin & Marshall College alumni Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania lawyers Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Lebanon County, Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 19th-century American lawyers