John I. Mitchell

John Inscho Mitchell (* July 28, 1838 in Tioga Township, Tioga County, Pennsylvania; † 20 August 1907 in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania ) was an American politician ( Republican), who represented the state of Pennsylvania in both houses of Congress.

Officer and lawyer

John Mitchell attended the common schools and received private lessons. From 1857 to 1859 he studied at the University of Lewisburg, later Bucknell University; after which he worked until 1861 as a teacher. After the outbreak of the Civil War he joined the Union army and served first as lieutenant; later he became Captain of the 136th Volunteer Regiment of Infantry from Pennsylvania.

Later, Mitchell studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1864 and commenced practice in Tioga County. There he functioned from 1868 to 1871 as a district attorney. In 1870 he worked as editor of the Tioga County Agitator.

Politicians and judges

The political career of John Mitchell began with membership of the House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 1872-1876 He was then elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served from March 4, 1877 to March 3, 1881.; immediately afterwards he moved to the U.S. Senate and remained there until March 3, 1887. During this period he was also Chairman of the Committee on the Mississippi River.

After retiring from Congress John Mitchell worked as a judge. He belonged to the Court of Common Pleas of the 4th District of Pennsylvania 1888-1899, before being appointed for a term of office to the Supreme Court of the State.