Biography

10/25/1800 - 05/30/1888

Judge John James Pearson (Whig20) Beaver and Mercer Counties 1838-1841

Early Life:

Judge John James Pearson, born October 25, 1800, Darby, Delaware County, Pennsylvania; son of Bevan and Anne Warner Pearson; moved with his parents, Mercer, Pennsylvania, 1805; private schools, grammar boarding school; studied law; admitted, Mercer County bar, 1822; attorney; commenced law practice, Mercer County; elected, Anti-Jacksonian, United States House of Representatives, 1836-1837; not a candidate for renomination, 1836; resumed law practice; elected, Whig, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1838-1841; married, Ellen Hays Pearson, (d.1840) daughter, Mary Pearson; remarried, Mary Harris Briggs Pearson, 1842, children, Edward Pearson, Caroline Pearson, William Pearson, Mary Harris Pearson; appointed, president judge, Dauphin and Lebanon Counties, Pennsylvania, 1849-1882; died, May 30, 1888 (age 87 years, 218 days), Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania; interment, Mount Kalmia Cemetery (now known as Harrisburg Cemetery) Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.

Government Service/National Politics:

Elected, Anti-Jacksonian, United States House of Representatives, Pennsylvania's 24th congressional district, Twenty-fourth Congress, December 5, 1836-March 3, 1837; vacancy, resignation, John Banks; not a candidate for renomination, 1836.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected, Whig, Pennsylvania State Senate, Beaver and Mercer Counties, 1838-1841.

Appointed, president judge, 20th judicial district, Dauphin and Lebanon Counties, April 7, 1849-January 1, 1882. 

Legacy:

Grandfather, Pennsylvania State Senate Speaker John Pearson, Delaware, Philadelphia City, Philadelphia, Counties, 1800-1804, Senate Speaker, 1802. 

John Pearson  - Pennsylvania Senate Library (pasen.gov)

Father, Beran Pearson, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives Mercer and Venango Counties, 1808-1809

Cited: 

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

Pearson, William. Decisions of the Honorable John J. Pearson: Judge of the Twelfth Judicial District of Pennsylvania (Rees Welsh & Co., Philadelphia. 1880)

Obituary: John J. Pearson - Newspapers.com™  Harrisburg Telegraph. (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) May 30, 1888. page 1.

John James Pearson (1800-1888) - Find a Grave Memorial