John Alexander AHL, Congress, PA (1813-1882)

AHL, John Alexander, a Representative from Pennsylvania; born in Strasburg, Franklin County, Pa., August 16, 1813; moved with his parents to Newville, Cumberland County, Pa., in 1825; attended the public schools; taught school for several terms; studied medicine and was graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, Md., in 1832; practiced his profession at Centerville, Pa., until 1856; moved to Newville, Pa., in 1856 and engaged in the real estate business; also operated a paper mill; delegate to the Democratic National Convention at Cincinnati in 1856; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1857-March 3, 1859); declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1858; resumed the manufacture of paper and operated an iron furnace at Antietam, Md.; served as surgeon in the State militia; projector and major builder of the Harrisburg & Potomac Railroad; died in Newville, Pa., April 25, 1882; interment in Big Spring Presbyterian Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present