Biography

02/08/1793 - 12/10/1863

General Henry Fetter (D13) Cumberland and Perry Counties 1857-1858 (D14) Cumberland, Perry, Juniata and Mifflin Counties, 1859 

Early Life: 

General Henry Fetter, born February 8, 1793, Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania; son of  Johann Jacob and Catharina Smith Fetter; engaged, farming, merchant, purchased, license, retail foreign merchandise, liquors, wines,  $15, 1821, Carlisle, Pennsylvania; private, wounded, British bayonet, War of 1812; married, Jane Sample, 1816 children, William R. Fetter, Elizabeth Fetter Niblock, Henry H Fetter; moved, Landisburg, Perry County, Pennsylvania, 1815, returned, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 1818, moved back, Landisburg, 1820; captain, LaFayette Riflemen Company, Pennsylvania Militia, 1821-1827; appointed, postmaster, Landisburg Borough, 1823-1825; auditor, Landisburg Borough, 1824; Major General, Mexican War, 1848-1853; incorporator, railroad, 1854; presidential elector, Perry County, 1852; elected, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1857-1859; died, December 10, 1863, Landisburg, Perry County, Pennsylvania; interment, Landisburg Cemetery, Landisburg, Perry County, Pennsylvania.

Early Career: 

Enlisted, at age 16, Carlisle Guards; private, War of 1812, Marcus Hook Camp, 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, Pennsylvania Militia; rising in 9th Company, 2nd Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Light Infantry, Major General, Pennsylvania Militia. 

Captain, LaFayette Riflemen Company, 1st Battalion, 39th Regiment, 1st Brigade, 11th Division, Pennsylvania Militia, 1821-1827. 

Major General, Mexican War, 15th Division; commander, Company H. 47th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, 1848-1853.

Incorporator, Duncannon, Landisburg, and Broad Top Railroad Company, 1854.

Professional titles; business ownership; board memberships; local government; club memberships:

Appointed trustee, public log schoolhouse, Landisburg Borough, 1831; trustee, Landisburg Cemetery, 1833; elders, Landisburg Presbyterian Church; president, Perry County Bible Society, Presbyterian Church at Ickesburg; member, Landisburg Fire Company, 1833

Pennsylvania Politics: 

Appointed, postmaster, Landisburg Borough, Tyrone Township, Perry County, Pennsylvania, 1823-1825.

Auditor, Landisburg Borough, Tyrone Township, Perry County, Pennsylvania, 1824

Delegate, Friends of the Union Convention, Harrisburg Pennsylvania, 1837 

Presidential Elector for Perry County, General Franklin Pierce, President, United States; Colonel William R King, Vice President, United States, 1852. 

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 13th district, Cumberland and Perry Counties; committee assignments, Finance, Militia, New Counties and County Seats, 1857-1858. 

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 14th district, Cumberland, Perry, Juniata and Mifflin Counties, 1859. 

Legacy:

House is now a museum, Perry County Historical Society. 

Cited:

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

Manual For the Government of The Senate and House of Representatives of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, J. Ziegler, (1858) pages 298, 300. 

Fetter House – The Historical Society of Perry County, PA

Gen Henry Fetter (1793-1863) - Find a Grave Memorial