Member Biography

Biography

John Latta (D22) Fayette and Westmoreland Counties 1864 (D24) Fayette, Greene and Westmoreland Counties 1865-1866

Early Life: 

John Latta born March 2, 1836, Unity Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania; son of Moses and Eliza Graham Latta; Sewickley Academy; Elder's Ridge Academy; read law; Yale Law School, 1857-1859; admitted, Westmoreland County bar, 1859; private law practice, Greensburg, Pennsylvania,1859-1913; married, Emma Hope 1865 (d. 1876), children, Cuthbert H., Mary Maud, Isabel G., remarried, Rose McClellan, 1877, children, Rose, Marie Josephine, John, Thomas Pollard, Sarah Marguerite; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1863-1856; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1872-1873; elected, Democrat, Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, 1875-1879; died, February 15, 1913, Greensburg, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania; interment, Saint Clair Cemetery, Greensburg, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.

Early Career:

Read law under D.H. Hazen in Pittsburgh, private law practice, Greensburg, Pennsylvania, 1859-1913.

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

Member, Mason, Knight Templer, Royal Arch Mason, Ancient Order of United Workmen

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 22nd district, Fayette and Westmoreland Counties, 1864. 

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 24th district, Fayette, Greene and Westmoreland Counties, 1865-1866. 

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1872-1873.

Elected, Democrat, Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, 1875-1879.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Biography:

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

Legacy: 

Under the new Pennsylvania Constitution that went into effect on January 1, 1874, he was the first elected lieutenant governor and served under Republican Governor John F. Hartranft

Cited: 

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

Boucher, John Newton (1918). Old and New Westmoreland. New York: The American Historical Society, Inc. pp. 4–5. Retrieved 14 June 2020.

Jordan, John W. (1906). History of Westmoreland County Pennsylvania. New York: The Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 18–19. Retrieved 14 June 2020.

Wiley, Samuel T. (1890). Biographical and Historical Cyclopedia of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: John M. Gresham & Co. pp. 121–122. Retrieved 14 June 2020.

John Latta (1836-1913) - Find a Grave Memorial