Joseph F. Biddle
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Joseph Franklin Biddle (September 14, 1871December 3, 1936) was a Republican 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.


Career

Joseph F. Biddle was born in Charlesville, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Millersville State Teachers’ College at Millersville, Pennsylvania, in 1894 and from the law department of
Dickinson College , mottoeng = Freedom is made safe through character and learning , established = , type = Private liberal arts college , endowment = $645.5 million (2022) , president = J ...
in
Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census, ...
, in 1897. He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Bedford. He moved to Everett, Pennsylvania, in 1903 and engaged in the practice of law and in newspaper publishing. He moved to Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, in 1918 and engaged in the printing and publishing business and in banking. He was a member of the Pennsylvania Publishers’ Association from 1924 to 1936, director of the National Editorial Association from 1926 to 1936, and a member of the Republican State committee from 1932 to 1936. In November 1932, Biddle was the successful Republican nominee in the special election held to fill the vacancy in the Seventy-second Congress caused by the death of
Edward M. Beers Edward McMath Beers (May 27, 1877 – April 21, 1932) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Edward M. Beers was born in Nossville, Tell Township, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania on May 27, 1877. In 1895, ...
. He completed Beers's term, November 8, 1932 to March 3, 1933, but was not a candidate for a full term. After leaving Congress, Biddle resumed the printing and newspaper publishing business in Huntingdon, where he died. His interment is in Trinity Churchyard, Friends’ Cove, near Bedford.


Family publishing business

Joseph F. Biddle married Anna Patton Hunter (1876–1936) on June 17, 1903. They had four daughters and one son. Biddle founded a newspaper, ''The Daily News'' of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, January 31, 1922. Upon the deaths of Joseph F. Biddle and wife, Anna Biddle (both died in 1936), ownership of the Biddle publishing assets passed to their five children: # Mary Elisabeth Biddle (1904–1983), married to Wilbur Kaylor McKee (1898–1984) # John Hunter Biddle (1905–1977), married to Helen Isabella Read (1913–1985) # Anne Patton Biddle (1907–1976), married to Griffith Roberts Pullinger (1903–1984) # Sarah Jane Biddle (1908–1979), married to William Worley Ten Eyck (1907–1976) # Frances Josephine Biddle (1914–2007), married to Elmer Ellsworth McMeen (1912–1996) The newspaper and its holding company – The Joseph F. Biddle Publishing Company – was owned and operated by Joseph and Anna Biddle's heirs until October 21, 1991, when all publishing assets were sold to The Sample News Group, LLC. The Huntingdon Broadcasters, Inc., longtime owners of
WHUN (AM) WHUN (1150 AM) is a classic hits station serving the Huntingdon, Pennsylvania area. As of June 28, 2018, the station is known as "97.7 103.1 103.5 WOWY, simulcasting WAPY 103.1 FM State College and WHUN-FM 103.5 Huntingdon. WHUN is owned by Krist ...
and WHUN (FM), had been a wholly owned subsidiary of The Joseph F. Biddle Publishing Company until the mid-1990s, when it was acquired by Forever Broadcasting (Forever Media, Inc.), and in 2015 was acquired by Southern Belle LLC. John Hunter Biddle served as publisher of ''The Daily News'' from 1936 until his death on May 14, 1977. On June 13, 1977, one of John H. Biddle's sons, Joseph Franklin Biddle II (born 1936) became the publisher of ''The Daily News'' – a third generation Biddle family distinction.


Notable heirs

One of Joseph's grandsons, El McMeen ''(né'' Elmer Ellsworth McMeen; born 1947) is a notable steel string fingerstyle guitarist.


References


General


The Political Graveyard


Inline citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biddle, Joseph F. 1871 births 1936 deaths People from Bedford County, Pennsylvania American newspaper publishers (people) Millersville University of Pennsylvania alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Journalists from Pennsylvania