Biography

05/08/1806 - 12/07/1892

William Rittenhouse Gorgas (D14) Adams, Cumberland and Franklin County 1842-1843 (D16) Cumberland and Perry Counties 1844

Early Life: 

William Rittenhouse Gorgas, born May 8, 1806, at home, Lower Allen Township, White Hill, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania; son of Solomon and Catharine Fahnestock Gorgas; Mount Saint Mary’s College, Emmitsburg, Maryland; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1836-1839; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1842-1844; founder, first director, banking firm, Merkle, Mumma and Company, (later the First National Bank of Mechanicsburg), Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; director, Harrisburg National Bank, 1845-1892; director, Harrisburg Bridge Company; Harrisburg City Passenger Railway Company; president, Harrisburg Burial Case Company; Allen and East Pennsboro’ Fire Insurance Company; member, Reservoir Park Commission, advisory board, Children’s Industrial Home, 1877; moved, Gorgas homestead, Cumberland County,  Harrisburg, 1882; married, Elizabeth Hummel, 1840, children, David H Gorgas, Catharine Fahnestock Gorgas, William Luther Gorgas, Mary E. Gorgas, Solomon R. Gorgas, Elizabeth E Gorgas, George Albert Gorgas; died, December 7, 1892 (aged 86), Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania; interment, family lot, Camp Hill Cemetery, Camp Hill, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. 

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, Cumberland County, 1836-1839.

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 14th district, Adams, Cumberland and Franklin County 1842-1843, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 16th district, Adams, Cumberland and Perry County, 1844. 

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Biography:

Not currently available.

Legacy:

Father, Solomon Gorgas, Democrat, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, Cumberland County, 1821-1823.

Cited:

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

William Rittenhouse Gorgas (1806-1892) - Find a Grave Memorial