John Sergeant (politician)
John Sergeant | |
---|---|
Hugh Nelson | |
Succeeded by | Hugh Nelson |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania | |
In office March 4, 1837 – September 15, 1841 | |
Preceded by | Joseph Ingersoll |
Succeeded by | Joseph Ingersoll |
Constituency | 2nd district |
In office January 14, 1828 – March 3, 1829 | |
Preceded by | Thomas Kittera |
Succeeded by | Daniel H. Miller |
Constituency | 2nd district |
In office October 10, 1815 – March 3, 1823 | |
Preceded by | Jonathan Williams |
Succeeded by | Samuel Breck |
Constituency | 1st district, Seat D |
Personal details | |
Born | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | December 5, 1779
Died | November 23, 1852 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | (aged 72)
Resting place | Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Political party | Federalist (Before 1828) National Republican (1828–1834) Whig (1834–1852) |
Spouse |
Margaretta Watmough
(after 1813) |
Relatives | Jonathan Dickinson Sergeant (father) |
Education | University of Pennsylvania Princeton University (BA) |
John Sergeant (December 5, 1779 – November 23, 1852) was an American politician who represented
After graduating from Princeton University, Sergeant served in the Philadelphia government and won election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. As a member of the Federalist Party, he won election to the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1815 to 1823. In Congress, he supported Clay's American System and opposed the extension of slavery, voting against the Missouri Compromise.
After serving as president of the Pennsylvania Board of Canal Commissioners, Sergeant returned to Congress in 1827. He lost his 1829 re-election campaign and became a legal counsel for the Second Bank of the United States.[1] In the 1832 presidential election, the ticket of Clay and Sergeant was soundly defeated by the Democratic ticket of Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren. After the election, Sergeant joined the Whig Party and again returned to Congress, serving from 1837 to 1841. He was also the president of the Pennsylvania constitutional convention in 1838. He retired from public office in 1841 and resumed his law practice.
Early life and education
Sergeant was born in
Sergeant was educated in the common schools and at the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia.[4] He graduated from Princeton College in 1795. He became a lawyer and, after being admitted to the bar in 1799, practiced law for fifty years.[5]
Career
In 1800, Sergeant became deputy
In 1813, Sergeant was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society.[7]
In 1825, he was president of the Pennsylvania Board of Canal Commissioners. The following year, he was an envoy to the
He failed re-election to the following term and left Congress for the second time on March 3, 1829. He then became legal counsel to the Bank of the United States.[4]
Vice presidential candidate
Sergeant was
After his vice presidential candidacy, he returned as president of the Pennsylvania constitutional convention in 1838, and then was elected as a
In 1844 he was considered for the Whig vice presidential nomination, to once again run with Clay, but the convention eventually selected Theodore Frelinghuysen.
Personal life
On June 23, 1813, he married Margaretta Watmough, daughter of James Horatio Watmough and Anna (née Carmick) Watmough.[8][9] With Margaretta he fathered ten children, all but one surviving infancy. Among his children were:[10]
- Margaretta Sergeant (1814–1886), who married Major General George Meade, Commander of the Union Army of the Potomac from the Battle of Gettysburg until the end of the Civil War.[11]
- Sarah Sergeant (1817–1850), who married Henry A. Wise, the 33rd Governor of Virginia.[10]
- Katherine Sergeant (1825–1910), who married Harry Augustus Cram (parents of John Sergeant Cram).[10]
- William Sergeant (1829–1865), who served in the Civil War and was mortally wounded at the Battle of White Oak Road.[12]
Sergeant died in Philadelphia on November 23, 1852, and was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery Section L, Lots 1–7.[13]
Descendants
His grandsons,
References
- ISBN 9781585442164. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ISBN 9780160845789. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ^ Halfield, D.D., Edwin F. (1878). The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. Historical Society of Pennsylvania. pp. 438–442. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ^ a b c d e "SERGEANT, John - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ^ Sergeant, John (1832). Select Speeches of John Sergeant, of Pennsylvania [1818-1828]. E.L. Carey & A. Hart. p. 185. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ISBN 9780807143988. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
- The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ISBN 9780811724715. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ^ a b c Wise, Jennings Cropper (1918). Col. John Wise of England and Virginia (1617-1695): His Ancestors and Descendants. Bell Books and Stationery Company. p. 285. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ISBN 9781611213973. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ^ Appletons' Annual Cyclopædia and Register of Important Events of the Year ... D. Appleton & Company. 1888. p. 468. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
External links
- United States Congress. "John Sergeant (id: S000246)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Grave
- The Political Graveyard