Joseph HEMPHILL, Congress, PA (1770-1842)

HEMPHILL, Joseph, a Representative from Pennsylvania; born in Thornburg Township, Chester County, Pa., January 7, 1770; completed a preparatory course; was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia in 1791; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1793 and commenced practice in West Chester, Pa.; member of the State house of representatives 1797-1800; elected as a Federalist to the Seventh Congress (March 4, 1801-March 3, 1803); moved to Philadelphia in 1803; again a member of the State house of representatives in 1805; appointed the first president judge of the district court of the city and county of Philadelphia; elected as a Federalist to the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Congresses, elected as a Jackson Federalist to the Eighteenth Congress, reelected as a Jacksonian to the Nineteenth Congress, and served from March 4, 1819, until his resignation in 1826; elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-first Congress (March 4, 1829-March 3, 1831); member of the State house of representatives in 1831 and 1832; died in Philadelphia, Pa., May 29, 1842; interment in Laurel Hill Cemetery.

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