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Edward McPherson

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Edward McPherson
Clerk of the United States House of Representatives
In office
1889–1891
1881–1883
1863–1875
Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
In office
1877–1878
Preceded byHenry C. Jewell
Succeeded byO. H. Irish
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 17th district
In office
March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1863
Preceded byWilson Reilly
Succeeded byArchibald McAllister
Personal details
BornJuly 31, 1830
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedDecember 14, 1895 (aged 65)
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyWhig
Other political
affiliations		Republican
EducationPennsylvania College
Signature

Edward McPherson (July 31, 1830 – December 14, 1895) was an American newspaper editor and politician who served two terms in the United States House of Representatives, as well as multiple terms as the Clerk of the House of Representatives. As a director of the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association, he effected efforts to protect and mark portions of the Gettysburg Battlefield.

Early life and career

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Edward McPherson was born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on July 31, 1830.[1] He studied law and botany at Pennsylvania College, graduating in 1848 as valedictorian.

Career

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In Thaddeus Stevens' firm in Lancaster, McPherson became a Whig. McPherson left the law practice due to illness and moved to Harrisburg, editing the Harrisburg American in 1851, and the Lancaster Independent Whig (1851–1854).[2] In 1855, he started and edited an American Party paper, the Pittsburgh Evening Times.[3] He moved back to Gettysburg the next year and resumed his legal career. He inherited his father's farm west of town along the Chambersburg Turnpike in 1858[4] and was elected to the 36th and 37th United States Congresses (1859 – March 1863, Republican). He was a member of the Republican National Committee in 1860.

During his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives he served on the Committee on Military Affairs and Joint Committee on the Library.[5]

Civil War

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McPherson organized Company K of the First Pennsylvania Reserves at the beginning of the American Civil War,[6] and was defeated in the 1862 reelection when his House of Representatives district (Adams, Franklin, Fulton, Bedford, and Juniata counties)[7] was expanded to include opposing Radical Republicans in Somerset County[citation needed] (substituted for Juniata).[8] President Abraham Lincoln appointed McPherson as Deputy Commissioner of Revenue in 1863. After the Battle of Gettysburg, McPherson became an officer of the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association with an office on the corner of Baltimore and Middle streets,[9] and after Congressman Morehead nominated him, Thaddeus Stevens had him appointed as Clerk of the House of Representatives (December 8, 1863 – December 5, 1875).[citation needed]

Postwar career

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McPherson presided over the Republican National Convention in 1876, and President Hayes appointed him as director of the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing (1877–1878). Returning to the newspaper business, he was editor of the Philadelphia Press from 1877 until 1880. He also served as editor of the New York Tribune Almanac from 1877 to 1895 and was editor and proprietor of a newspaper in Gettysburg from 1880 until 1895. He was the American editor of the Almanach de Gotha. He again served as Clerk of the House of Representatives from December 1881 to December 1883 and for a third time from December 1889 to December 1891. McPherson was the attorney for the 1893 complaint against the Gettysburg Electric Railway which ended in the Supreme Court case of United States v. Gettysburg Electric Railway Co.[10]

McPherson diverted printing contracts away from Radical Republican newspapers and to moderate newspapers instead. He diverted the contracts from the Jacksonville Florida Times to Florida Union in Florida, Albion W. Tourgée's Union Register to William Woods Holden's Raleigh Daily Standard in North Carolina, and gave contracts to two newspapers edited by former Confederate officers. He initially granted a contract to The New Orleans Tribune, a black-owned newspaper supported by Radicals, but revoked it in 1868 at the request of Thomas W. Conway.[11]

Personal life

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1863 Battle of Gettysburg combat on July 1 was at the barn on McPherson Ridge, which had been named for McPherson by 1892.

McPherson married Annie D. Crawford in 1862,[12][13] and they had four sons and a daughter.[14]

He died of accidental poisoning in Gettysburg on December 14, 1895.[1][15] He was interred at Evergreen Cemetery in Adams County, Pennsylvania.

The Edward McPherson Society is named in his honor.

Works

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In 1941, the papers of Edward McPherson were added to the Library of Congress, [1] and his published works include:

  • McPherson, Edward (1864). Political History of the United States of America During the Great Rebellion. Philp & Solomons. ISBN 978-0-7222-7534-4.
  • —— (1871). The Political History of the United States of America During the Period of Reconstruction.
  • —— (September 12, 1889). "Remarks of Hon. Edward McPherson". The Star and Sentinel. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
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In the 2012 film Lincoln, McPherson is portrayed by Christopher Evan Welch.

References

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  1. ^ a b Johnson, Rossiter; Brown, John Howard, eds. (1904). The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. Vol. VII. Boston: The Biographical Society. Retrieved May 14, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ "McPherson, Edward". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. United States Congress. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
  3. ^ "New Evening Paper". The Daily Pittsburgh Gazette. June 19, 1855. p. 3.
  4. ^ Rummel, George A. III (1997). 72 Days at Gettysburg: Organization of the 10th Regiment, New York Volunteer Cavalry. White Mane. p. 73.
  5. ^ Congress 1863, p. 4; 8.
  6. ^ "Two Hundred Gather to Hear Stories of 3-day Battle". Gettysburg Compiler. August 12, 1950. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  7. ^ "Hon. Edward McPherson Clerk of Congress". The Adams Centinel. October 30, 1866. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  8. ^ Part III, History of Adams County. Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. 1886. pp. 364–365. Retrieved May 14, 2022 – via Google Books. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  9. ^ "Improvements". Gettysburg Compiler - Sep 23, 1902. September 23, 1902. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  10. ^ Hensel, W.U. (August 15, 1893). "Gettysburg Trolley: Attorney General Hensel Refuses to Interfere". Gettysburg Compiler. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
  11. ^ Abbott 1986, p. 135-136.
  12. ^ "Harvest of Grim Reaper: Mrs McPherson Quickly Succumbs to the Unexpected". Gettysburg Compiler. December 5, 1906. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  13. ^ "Married". The Adams Centinel. November 18, 1862. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  14. ^ "William L. McPherson Author and Editorial Writer, Dies Suddenly". Gettysburg Compiler. November 15, 1930. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  15. ^ "Death of Edward M'Pherson" (PDF). The New York Times. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. December 15, 1895. p. 1. Retrieved May 14, 2022.

Works cited

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U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district
1859–1863 		Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by Clerk of the United States House of Representatives
1863–1875 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
1877 – 1878 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Clerk of the United States House of Representatives
1881–1883 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Clerk of the United States House of Representatives
1889–1891 		Succeeded by
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