Member Biography

William Pendleton Wilcox 

Seal
Sessions Office Position District Party
1843       22 Democrat
1844       28 Democrat
1845     Speaker 28 Democrat

Biography

05/30/1794 - 04/13/1868


Judge William Pendleton Wilcox (D22) Jefferson, McKean, Potter, Tioga, Venango and Warren Counties 1843 (D28) Jefferson, McKean, Potter, Tioga, Venango and Warren Counties 1844-1845  

Early Life:

Judge William Pendleton Wilcox born, May 30, 1794, Danube, Herkimer County, New York; sergeant, McIntyre’s Battalion, New York Militia, 1814, War of 1812; elected, sheriff, Alleghany County, New York; agent, Richards and Jones Land Company; postmaster, United States Postal Service, Port Allegany, Pennsylvania; engaged, lumber business; proprietor, sawmill, tannery, hotel and tavern; associate judge, Elk County (3 nonconsecutive terms); elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1838-1840; elected, sheriff, McKean County; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1843-1845: Speaker of the Senate, 1845; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1858-1859; not a candidate for reelection, 1860 term; railroad contractor; Betsey Payne, children: Elvira Zeviah Wilcox, Alonzo Isaiah Wilcox, Clarissa Prudelia Wilcox, remarried, Esther Swift, 1824, no children; died, April 13, 1868, Port Allegany, McKean County, Pennsylvania; interment, Fairview Cemetery, Port Allegany, McKean County, Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Associate judge, Elk County, three nonconsecutive terms. 

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Jefferson, McKean and Warren Counties, 1838-1840. 

Elected, sheriff, McKean County. 

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 22nd district, Jefferson, McKean, Potter, Tioga, Venango and Warren Counties 1843.

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 28th district, Jefferson, McKean, Potter, Tioga, Venango and Warren Counties 1844-1845; Chaired, Militia Committee, 1844; elected Speaker, April 29, 1844-January 7, 1845. 

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Clearfield, Elk, Jefferson and McKean Counties, 1858-1859; not a candidate for reelection, 1860 term.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Biography:

Official Website - PA House Archives Official Website (state.pa.us)

Legacy:

The town Wilcox, Elk County, honor, son, Colonel Alonzo Isaiah Wilcox. 

Son, Colonel Alonzo Isaiah Wilcox Elk, Pennsylvania House of Representative, McKean and Warren Counties, 1848-1849, Cameron, Elk and Jefferson Counties, 1872. 

Cited:

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

William Alonzo Wilcox. Wilcox-Brown-Medbery Genealogy, Scranton, Pennsylvania: Printed for the Author. 1902. Pages 14-16. 

A Wilcox-Brown-Medbery genealogy (archive.org)

William Pendleton Wilcox (1794-1868) - Find a Grave Memorial