Biography

10/05/1806 - 03/25/1887

Jacob Dick Boas (D9) Northampton and Lehigh Counties 1847-1849

Early Life:

Jacob Dick Boas, born October 5, 1806,Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania; son of Jacob and Sarah Dick Boas; engaged, hatter, 1821-1831, establishing his own business, Allentown, Pennsylvania; elected, Allentown Town Clerk, 1835; elected, borough council, Allentown, 1836; treasurer, Lehigh County, 1840-1842; elected, Whig, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1847-1849; moved to Harrisburg, jewelry business, Boas and Newhard,1850; elected, Independent, Sheriff, Dauphin County, 1860-1863; appointed, gauger, United States Internal Revenue Department, 1868, resigned, 1873; elected, Republican, Mayor of Harrisburg, 1873-1875;married, Elizabeth Seller, 1831, children, Sarah Elizabeth Boas Smith, Charles Augustus Boas; married second, Emeline Yeakel Krause, 1873; died, March 25, 1887 (aged 80), residence of his daughter-in-law, severe cold, contracted on inauguration day Governor James A. Beaver, finally settling into paralysis of the brain and heart; Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania; interment, Harrisburg Cemetery, Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.

Early Career:

Established, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1850, Boas and Newhard, Watchmakers and Jewelers business with watchmaker J. F. Newhard. Eventually bought out Newhard's share and passed the business on to his son, Charles.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected, borough council, Allentown Town Clerk, 1835.

Elected, borough council, Allentown, 1836.

Elected, Treasurer of Lehigh County, 1840-1842. 

Elected, Whig, Pennsylvania State Senate, 9th district, Northampton and Lehigh Counties, 1847-1849. 

Elected, Independent, sheriff, Dauphin County, 1860-1863. 

Appointed, gauger, United States Internal Revenue Department, 1868 resigned, 1873. 

Elected, Republican, Mayor of Harrisburg, 1873-1875. 

Legacy:

Father, Jacob Dick Boas, bill printer, Pennsylvania State House, Pennsylvania State Senate; publisher, Harrisburg Reporter.

After his father's death, 1815, moved to his uncle Jacob Levin’s residence, Kutztown, Pennsylvania.

Cited:

Cox, Harold. "Senate Members B". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

Harrisburg Telegraph Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Saturday March 26, 1887, Page 1.

Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pa, New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., Inc, 1948.

Jacob Dick Boas (1806-1887) - Find a Grave Memorial