John Gebhard (February 22, 1782 – January 3, 1854) was an American lawyer and politician from
New York.
Life
Gebhard attended the public schools of Columbia County. He studied law with his brother Jacob, was
admitted to the bar
An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...
and practiced in Schoharie County. He was the county
Surrogate from 1811 to 1813, and from 1815 to 1823.
In addition to practicing law, Gebhard farmed and was involved in several business ventures, including construction over the Schoharie Creek of the Middleburgh Bridge, which travelers paid tolls to use.
Gebhard was elected as a
Federalist to the
17th United States Congress
The 17th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. While its term was officially March 4, 1821, t ...
, holding office from December 3, 1821, to March 3, 1823. Afterwards he resumed the practice of law.
Gebhard was also an amateur geologist and mineralogist, and with his son John Gebhard, Jr. (1802-1887) was one of the first explorers of the limestone caves in and around Schoharie County, including
Howe Caverns. Gebhard amassed a large personal collection of minerals found in the caves, and provided samples to other academics and researchers. John Gebhard, Jr. was later employed by the
New York State Museum of Natural History
The New York State Museum is a research-backed institution in Albany, New York, United States. It is located on Madison Avenue, attached to the south side of the Empire State Plaza, facing onto the plaza and towards the New York State Capitol. ...
, to which his family later sold the senior Gebhard's collection.
He was buried at St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery in Schoharie. Gebhard's daughter Charlotte was the wife of
Charles Goodyear
Charles Goodyear (December 29, 1800 – July 1, 1860) was an American self-taught chemist and manufacturing engineer who developed vulcanized rubber, for which he received patent number 3633 from the United States Patent Office on June 15, 1844. ...
, who also served in Congress.
References
External links
1782 births
1854 deaths
New York (state) lawyers
People from Claverack, New York
People from Schoharie, New York
New York (state) state court judges
Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)
Burials in New York (state)
19th-century American legislators
19th-century American judges
19th-century American lawyers
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