Alexander McDowell (March 4, 1845 – September 30, 1913) was a Republican member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Biography

Alexander McDowell was born in

Franklin, Pennsylvania Franklin is a city in and the county seat of Venango County, Pennsylvania, United States, located at the confluence of French Creek and the Allegheny River. The population was 6,097 in the 2020 census. Franklin is part of the Oil City microp ...

. He attended the common schools and learned the

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

trade. He studied law but never practiced. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, he served in the Union Army in the One Hundred and Twenty-first Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. He was mustered out at the close of the war as brevet major. He served as

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

of the '' Venango Citizen'' until 1870, when he moved to

Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...

and engaged in banking. He served as treasurer and director of the School Board of Sharon from 1880 to 1913, and as treasurer of the borough of Sharon from 1880 to 1909. McDowell was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-third Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1894. He was elected

Clerk of the House of Representatives The clerk of the United States House of Representatives is an officer of the United States House of Representatives, whose primary duty is to act as the chief record-keeper for the House. Along with the other House officers, the clerk is elect ...

on March 4, 1895, and served in that capacity until March 3, 1911. He was a delegate to the Republican National Conventions in

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

, and

1908 This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time. Events January * January ...

. He resumed banking interests, and died in Sharon, Pennsylvania on September 30, 1913. He was interred in the Oakwood Cemetery in Sharon."McDowell, Alexander," ''The Political Graveyard''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McDowell, Alexander 1845 births 1913 deaths Clerks of the United States House of Representatives Editors of Pennsylvania newspapers School board members in Pennsylvania Union army soldiers People from Franklin, Pennsylvania Politicians from Venango County, Pennsylvania People from Sharon, Pennsylvania Politicians from Mercer County, Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives