Biography

07/25/1818 - 05/18/1911

Elijah Reed Myer (R17) Bradford, Susquehanna, Wyoming Counties 1857 (R9) Bradford, Susquehanna, Wyoming Counties 1858-1859

Early Life:

Elijah Reed Myer, born, July 25, 1818, Canton Township, Bradford County, Pennsylvania; common school education; engaged, milling, farming; married, Mary Frances Cochrane, 1847, children, Thomas Evans, Elizabeth Foster, Erskine Reed, Mollie White, Charles Malcom, John Jefferson; elected, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1857-1859; presidential appointee, surveyor of customs, United States Customs Service, Philadelphia, 1861-1867; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1872-1873; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1876-1877; elected, Speaker (1877-1878); died, May 18, 1911 (aged 92), Canton Township, Bradford County, Pennsylvania; interment, Wysox Cemetery, Wysox, Bradford County, Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 17^th district, Bradford, Susquehanna, Wyoming Counties, 1857.

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 17^th district, Bradford, Susquehanna, Wyoming Counties, 1858-1859.

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1872-1873; not a candidate for reelection, 1874; committee assignments, Banks, Corporations, Counties and Townships, Manufacturers; chairman, Ways and Means.

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1876-1877; elected, 94th Speaker, Pennsylvania House of Representatives Speaker, 1877-1878; Act 21 of 1878, created Pennsylvania’s 67th and last county, Lackawanna; Act 143 of 1878, which prevented the sale of altered or tainted milk in Pennsylvania. Not a candidate for reelection, 1878.  

Continued Government Service/National Politics:

Presidential appointee, President Abraham Lincoln, surveyor of customs, United States Customs Service, Philadelphia, 1861-1867.  

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Biographies:

https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/SpeakerBios/SpeakerBio.cfm?id=57

https://archives.house.state.pa.us/people/member-biography?ID=7066&body=H

Cited:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/39287831/elijah-reed-myer