Joseph Hemphill (January 7, 1770May 29, 1842) was an American politician who served as a Federalist member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district from 1801 to 1803, as a Jackson Federalist representative for

Pennsylvania's 1st congressional district Pennsylvania's first congressional district includes all of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Bucks County and a sliver of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County in southeastern Pennsylvania. It has been represented by Brian Fitzpatrick (Am ...

from 1819 to 1823 and as a Jacksonian representative for

Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district Pennsylvania's second congressional district includes all of Northeast Philadelphia and parts of North Philadelphia east of Broad Street, as well as portions of Philadelphia's River Wards. It has been represented by Democrat Brendan Boyle since 2 ...

from 1829 to 1831. He also served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1797 to 1800, in 1805 and from 1831 to 1832.

Early life and education

Hemphill was born on January 7, 1770, to Joseph and Ann (Wills) Hemphill in Thornbury Township in the Province of Pennsylvania. He graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in 1791. He studied law under Thomas Ross, was admitted to the bar in 1793 and began to practice law in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Political career

Hemphill served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1797 to 1800. He was elected as a Federalist member representing Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district in the

Seventh Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season e ...

Congress from 1801 to 1803. He moved to Philadelphia in 1803, and again was a member of the State House of Representatives in 1805. He was appointed the first president judge of the district court of the city and county of

. He was elected as a Federalist member representing

in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Congresses from 1819 to 1823. He was elected as a Jackson Federalist member representing

in the Eighteenth Congress, and reelected as a Jacksonian to the Nineteenth Congress, from 1823 until his resignation in 1826. He was elected as a Jacksonian member representing Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district in the Twenty-first Congress from 1829 to 1831. He was a member of the State House of Representatives in 1831 and 1832. Hemphill introduced a bill in 1824 which called for the usage of military personnel to conduct surveys and estimate costs for construction of roads and canals. He was an anti-slavery advocate and gave a speech to Congress against slavery, especially in Missouri. He declared slavery to be "the forcible oppression of otherwise powerless people". During the Congressional debate about the

Indian Removal Act The Indian Removal Act was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States President Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, and for ...

, Hemphill was split between his support for President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

and his Quaker constituency's opposition to the law. He proposed delaying implementation of the act in order to conduct surveys of the land the Native Americans were to be moved to, but his proposal was voted down.

Business career

In 1831, Hemphill's son, Alexander, entered into a business partnership with William Ellis Tucker for his porcelain factory in Philadelphia. Tucker died in 1832 and the firm was joined by Joseph and his brother Thomas. The factory continued production under the Hemphill name until it closed in 1838.

Personal life

He purchased the

Historic Strawberry Mansion Historic Strawberry Mansion is a summer home in East Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was originally named Summerville by Judge William Lewis who had it built sometime between 1783 and 1789.William Lewis in 1821 and used it as his summer home. He added the

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

wings to the structure and was known to entertain John C. Calhoun from South Carolina and the

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revolutio ...

from France. In September, 1806, he married Margaret Coleman, daughter of the wealthy industrialist Robert Coleman from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Joseph Hemphill tombstone

He died in Philadelphia on May 28, 1842, and was interred at

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

. A descendant, Alexander Hemphill, served as

City Controller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level execut ...

for Philadelphia from 1958 to 1968.

Bibliography

Mr. Hemphill's speech in the House of Representatives, on the 14th of January, 1823, on the following bill: To procure the necessary surveys, plans and estimates, on the subject of roads and canals.
Washington, D.C., D. Rapine, 1823
Mr. Hemphill's speech on the bill to construct a national road from Buffalo, passing by the seat of the general government, to New Orleans. Delivered in the House of Representatives, U.S. 23d March, 1830.
Washington, D.C., Wm. Greer printer, 1830

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hemphill, Joseph 1770 births 1842 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American politicians American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Businesspeople from Philadelphia Ceramics manufacturers of the United States Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania district justices Pennsylvania Federalists Pennsylvania lawyers People from Chester County, Pennsylvania Politicians from Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania alumni