Member Biography

John Benton Sterigere 

Member

Portrait: Courtesy Montgomery County Historical Society

Sessions Office Position District Party
1839       3 Democrat
1840       3 Democrat
1844       3 Democrat
1845     Speaker 3 Democrat
1846       3 Democrat

Biography

10/13/1793 - 10/13/1852


John Benton Sterigere (D3) Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties 1839-1840 (D3) Montgomery County 1844-1846

Early Life:

John Benton Sterigere, born October 13, 1793, Upper Dublin Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania; son of Peter and Elizabeth Sterigere; teacher, Puff’s Church School; appointed, justice of Montgomery County, 1818-1821; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1821-1825; elected, Jacksonian Democrat, United States House of Representatives, 1827-1831; studied law; admitted, bar, 1829, commenced law practice, Norristown, Pennsylvania; delegate, Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention, 1838; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1839-1840; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1844-1846; Speaker, Senate of Pennsylvania, 1845; delegate, Democratic National Convention, 1852; bachelor; died, October 13, 1852, Norristown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania; interment, Upper Dublin Lutheran Church Cemetery, Ambler, Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Appointed, Governor William Findlay, justice of Montgomery County, 1818-1821. 

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1821-1825. 

Delegate, Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention, 1838.

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 3rd district, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties, 1839-1840.

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 3rd district, Montgomery County, 1844-1846; Speaker, Senate of Pennsylvania, 1845.

Delegate, Democratic National Convention, 1852.

Continued Government Service/National Politics:

Elected, Jacksonian Democrat, United States House of Representatives, Pennsylvania's 5th congressional district, 1827-1831; chairman, Private Land Claims Committee.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Biography:

Not currently available. 

Cited:

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

Lives of the Eminent Dead and Biographical Notices of Prominent Living Citizens of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania; M. Auge, (Norristown: 1879), page 173. 

History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, editor Theodore Weber Bean (Philadelphia: Everts and Peck, 1884) pages 512- 515. 

John Benton Sterigere (1793-1852) - Find a Grave Memorial  

Congressional Biography

After 5 session(s) serving in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, John Benton Sterigere  went on to serve in congress