Joseph Baltzell Showalter
Encyclopedia
Joseph Baltzell Showalter (February 11, 1851 – December 3, 1932) was a Republican
member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
.
. He attended Georges Creek Academy at Smithfield, and taught school in West Virginia
, Indiana
, and Illinois
from 1867 to 1873. He moved to Chicora, Pennsylvania
, in 1873 and engaged in the production of petroleum
and natural gas
. He studied medicine at Long Island College Hospital
in Brooklyn, New York, in 1883, and graduated in 1884 from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Baltimore, Maryland (which later merged into the University of Maryland School of Medicine which is a component of the University of Maryland, Baltimore
.
He died in 1932 in Washington, D.C., and was interred in the North Cemetery in Butler, Pennsylvania.
from 1889 to 1892.
He was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fifth
Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James J. Davidson. He was reelected to the Fifty-sixth
and Fifty-seventh
Congresses. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1902.
. He later moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, and then to Washington, D.C.
He was engaged in the development of land in southern Florida
.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Personal
Joseph B. Showalter was born near Smithfield, PennsylvaniaSmithfield, Pennsylvania
Smithfield is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 854 at the 2000 census. It is served by the Albert Gallatin Area School District. The town's largest employer is a small wire producing plant run by Nelson Steel....
. He attended Georges Creek Academy at Smithfield, and taught school in West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, and Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
from 1867 to 1873. He moved to Chicora, Pennsylvania
Chicora, Pennsylvania
Chicora is a borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,021 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Chicora is located at ....
, in 1873 and engaged in the production of petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
and natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
. He studied medicine at Long Island College Hospital
Long Island College Hospital
Long Island College Hospital is a teaching hospital situated at Hicks and Amity Streets in Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn, New York.Founded in 1858, the hospital has 506 beds. In 1860 it introduced the practice of bedside teaching and it later became the first U.S. hospital to use stethoscopes...
in Brooklyn, New York, in 1883, and graduated in 1884 from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Baltimore, Maryland (which later merged into the University of Maryland School of Medicine which is a component of the University of Maryland, Baltimore
University of Maryland, Baltimore
University of Maryland, Baltimore, was founded in 1807. It comprises some of the oldest professional schools in the nation and world. It is the original campus of the University System of Maryland. Located on 60 acres in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, it is part of the University System of Maryland...
.
He died in 1932 in Washington, D.C., and was interred in the North Cemetery in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Medicine
Showalter practiced medicine in Chicora from 1884 to 1890, when he again engaged in the production of petroleum and natural gas.Politics
Showalter was elected as member of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives in 1887 and 1888. He served in the Pennsylvania State SenatePennsylvania State Senate
The Pennsylvania State Senate has been meeting since 1791. It is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such...
from 1889 to 1892.
He was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fifth
55th United States Congress
-House of Representatives:* Republican: 206 * Democratic: 124* Populist: 22* Silver Republican: 3* Silver: 1* Independent Republican: 1TOTAL members: 357-Leadership:-Senate:* President: Garret Hobart * President pro tempore: William P...
Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James J. Davidson. He was reelected to the Fifty-sixth
56th United States Congress
-House of Representatives:- Leadership :- Senate :* President: Garret Hobart , until November 21, 1899 , vacant thereafter.* President pro tempore: William P. Frye * Democratic Caucus Chairman: James K. Jones...
and Fifty-seventh
57th United States Congress
-House of Representatives:*Democratic: 151*Republican: 200 *Populist: 5*Silver : 1TOTAL members: 357-Leadership:-Senate:* President: Theodore Roosevelt , until September 14, 1901, vacant thereafter....
Congresses. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1902.
Later career
He resumed his former business pursuits and resided in Butler, PennsylvaniaButler, Pennsylvania
The city of Butler is the county seat of Butler County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, situated north of Pittsburgh. The population was 15,121 at the 2000 census.- History :...
. He later moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, and then to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
He was engaged in the development of land in southern Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.