Member Biography

John Andrew Shulze 

Member

Portrait: Jacob Eichholtz, 1825

 

Sessions Office Position District Party
1822-1823       8 Democrat

COUNTIES: Lebanon, Dauphin  


Biography

07/19/1774 - 11/18/1852


John Andrew Shulze (D8) Dauphin and Lebanon Counties 1822-1823

Early Life:

John Andrew Shulze, born July 19, 1774, Tulpehocken Township, Province of Pennsylvania, British America; son of Reverend Christopher Emmanuel and Eve Elizabeth Muhlenberg Shulze; early English education, father, German education, under uncle Reverend Doctor Kunze; Franklin College (now Franklin and Marshall), Lancaster; ordained, Lutheran minister, 1796; pastor, Berks County congregations, 1796-1802; married, Susan Immel Shulze, child,Francis Swayne Shulze; entered private business, Myerstown, Lebanon (then Dauphin) County; elected, Constitutional, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1806-1807, elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1807-1809, declined reelection; declined, gubernatorial appointment, Surveyor General; accepted several county-municipal positions, Lebanon County, 1813-1821; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1821-1822; elected Pennsylvania State Senate, 1822-1823; elected, Jeffersonian Democrat, 6th Governor of Pennsylvania, 1823-1829; delegate, first national convention, Whig Party, 1839; president, Pennsylvania's Electoral College, 1840; moved, Lancaster Pennsylvania, 1846; died, November 15, 1852 (aged 77), Lancaster, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; interment, Woodward Hill Cemetery, Lancaster, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected, Constitutional, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1806-1807.  

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1807-1809, declined, reelection. 

Declined, gubernatorial appointment, Surveyor General, Governor Simon Snyder. 

Accepted several county-municipal positions, Lebanon County, 1813-1821. 

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1821-1822. 

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 8th district, Dauphin and Lebanon Counties, 1822-1823; resigned his seat prior to the beginning of the session, 1823-1824, replaced by John Harrison.  

Elected, Jeffersonian Democrat, 6th Governor of Pennsylvania, 1823-1829; defeated, United States Senator Andrew Gregg, reelected, defeated, John Sergeant, one of the most lopsided victories in Pennsylvania political history, some estimate landslide victory 72,000-1,000 votes. Declined to run for a third term and retired to Montoursville, Pennsylvania. 

Delegate, first national convention, Whig Party, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1839. 

President, Pennsylvania's Electoral College which elected William Henry Harrison, ninth President of the United States, 1840.

Pennsylvania State House of Representatives Biography:

Not currently available. 

Legacy:

Mother, Eve Elizabeth Muhlenberg, daughter, Henry Melchior Muhlenger, founder, Lutheran Church in America. 

Grandson of Henry Muhlenberg; nephew of brothers Peter Muhlenberg and Frederick Muhlenberg. 

Resigned his ministry because of rheumatic fever, led to a career in politics.

Cited: 

Cox, Harold. "Senate Members S"Wilkes University Election Statistics ProjectWilkes University.

The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. II. James T. White & Company. 1921. p. 286. 

John Andrew Shulze (1775-1852) - Find a Grave Memorial