Biography

07/07/1809 - 12/10/1860

John Wilson Farrelly (Whig21) Crawford and Erie Counties 1842-1843 (Whig26) Crawford and Venango Counties 1844   

Early Life: 

John Wilson Farrelly, born July 7, 1809, Meadville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania; son of Patrick and  Elizabeth Mead Farrelly; limited schooling; Allegheny College, Meadville, Pennsylvania, 1826; studied law; admitted, bar 1828, attorney, private law practice, Meadville; married, Louisa L. Ellis Farrelly, (d.1846) children, Mary E. Farrelly, John W. Farrelly, Sarah L. Farrelly, Martha L. Farrelly, Ellis M. Farrelly, Anne J Farrelly; remarried, Mary M. Ellis Farrelly, 1849, children, P. Alden Farrelly, Adaline M. Farrelly; elected, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1837; elected, Burgess of Meadville, Pennsylvania, 1837; elected, Burgess of Meadville, 1839-1841; elected, Whig Pennsylvania State Senate 1842-1844; elected, Whig, United States House of Representatives, 1847-1849; presidential appointee, Sixth Auditor, Treasury, 1849-1853; resumed law practice, Meadville, Pennsylvania, 1853-1860; died, December 20, 1860 (age 51 years, 166 days), Meadville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania; interment, Greendale Cemetery, Meadville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania.

Early Career:

Attorney 1828-1860.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, Crawford County, 1837.  

Elected, Burgess of Meadville, Pennsylvania, 1837.

Elected, Burgess of Meadville, Pennsylvania, 1839-1841. 

Elected, Whig, Pennsylvania State Senate, 21st district, Crawford and Erie Counties 1842-1843. 

Elected, Whig, Pennsylvania State Senate, 26th district, Crawford and Venango Counties, 1844. 

Continued Government Service/National Politics:

Elected, Whig, United States House of Representatives, Thirtieth Congress, 1847-1849; chairman, Committee on Patents; not a candidate for renomination, 1848.

Appointed, Sixth Auditor, Treasury, President Zachary Taylor, November 5, 1849- resigned, April 9, 1853. 

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Biography:

Not currently available. 

Legacy: 

Father, Patrick Farrelly, member, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1811-1812; major, War of 1812; elected, Republican, Seventeenth Congress, reelected, Jackson Republican, Eighteenth Congress, Jacksonian candidate, Nineteenth Congress, March 4, 1821- death, January 12, 1826.

Cited: 

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

John Wilson Farrelly (1809-1860) - Find a Grave Memorial