Thomas Henry (Pennsylvania)

Thomas Henry ( * 1779 in County Down, Ireland; † July 20, 1849 in Beaver, Pennsylvania ) was an American politician. Between 1837 and 1843 he represented the State of Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Career

Thomas Henry grew up in his native Northern Ireland, and came in 1798 to the United States, where he settled in the town of Beaver. In 1808 he became a justice of the peace; In 1810 he was elected county council ( County Commissioner) in Beaver County. During the British - American War in 1814 he was captain of a company that should defend the American northern border against a British invasion in the year. In 1815 he was elected to the House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Between 1816 and 1821 he worked as an usher; in 1821 he was sheriff in Beaver County. Between 1821 and 1831 he published the newspaper Western Argus. In the years 1828 and 1829, he was district treasurer. Politically he was first a member of the Anti- Masonic Party. In 1840 he moved to the Whigs.

In the congressional elections of 1836 Henry was in the 24th electoral district of Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington DC chosen, where he became the successor of John James Pearson on March 4, 1837. After two re- election he was able to complete in Congress until March 3, 1843 three legislative periods. The time from 1841 was marked by the tensions between President John Tyler and the Whigs. It was also at that time already been discussed about a possible annexation of the independent Republic of Texas since 1836 by Mexico.

After the end of his time in the U.S. House of Representatives Thomas Henry is no longer politically have appeared. He died on July 20, 1849 in Beaver, where he was also buried.