John Black Packer
Encyclopedia
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
John B. Packer was born in Sunbury, Pennsylvania
Sunbury, Pennsylvania
Sunbury is a city in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is located on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, just downstream of the confluence of its main and West branches. The population was 9,905 at the 2010 census...
. He received private instructions and later attended Sunbury Academy in Sunbury, Pennsylvania
Sunbury, Pennsylvania
Sunbury is a city in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is located on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, just downstream of the confluence of its main and West branches. The population was 9,905 at the 2010 census...
. He was a member of the corps of engineers employed by the State in the survey and construction of public improvements from 1839 to 1842. He studied law, was admitted to the bar on August 6, 1844, and commenced the practice of his profession in Sunbury. He was also engaged in banking. He served as deputy attorney general from 1845 to 1847. He served in the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives in 1850 and 1851. He was one of the organizers of the Susquehanna Railroad Company in 1851.
Packer was elected as a Republican to the forty-first
41st United States Congress
-House of Representatives:- Senate :* President : Schuyler Colfax* President pro tempore: Henry B. Anthony - House of Representatives :* Speaker: James G. Blaine -Members:This list is arranged by chamber, then by state...
and to the three succeeding Congresses. He served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Railways and Canals during the Forty-second
42nd United States Congress
The Forty-second 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, 1871 to March 3, 1873, during the third and fourth...
Congress and United States House Committee on Post Office and Post Roads during the Forty-third
43rd United States Congress
The Forty-third 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, 1873 to March 4, 1875, during the fifth and sixth...
Congress. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1876
United States House election, 1876
The U.S. House election, 1876 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1876 which coincided with the election of President Rutherford B. Hayes....
. He resumed the practice of law in Sunbury and resumed his banking activities. He died in Sunbury in 1891. Interment in Pomfret Manor Cemetery.