Amos Ellmaker (February 2, 1787 – November 28, 1851) was a U.S. politician, attorney, and judge 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 ...

. He served as the Pennsylvania Attorney General and was the Anti-Masonic vice presidential candidate in the 1832 presidential election. Born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, he established a legal career in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

after attending Litchfield Law School. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, he served as an aide to General John Forster. After serving in the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

, Ellmaker accepted appointment as the Pennsylvania Attorney General. He returned to private practice in 1819 and helped found the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad. From 1828 to 1829, Ellmaker served another term as Pennsylvania Attorney General. In 1832, Ellmaker was nominated as the Anti-Masonic vice presidential candidate. The ticket of William Wirt and Ellmaker took 7.8% of the national popular vote and won the state of

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. Ellmaker sought election to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

in 1834 but was defeated by James Buchanan. After the election, Ellmaker retired from politics and practiced law in

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

Education

Amos Ellmaker was born in Leacock Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania on a property called, "Apple Bottom", the son of Peter Ellmaker and Susannah (Carpenter) Ellmaker. He graduated from Princeton College in 1805, attended the Litchfield Law School, and continued his legal studies under James Hopkins, the same Lancaster attorney who trained James Buchanan. Ellmaker completed his studies in the

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

office of Thomas Elder, whose daughter he later married. In 1808, Ellmaker was admitted to the bar and began practicing law in Harrisburg.

Public service

On Jan. 13, 1809, at age 21, Ellmaker was appointed deputy attorney general for Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. He served in the

in 1813 and 1814, elected from the legislative district composed of Dauphin and

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Counties. He volunteered for the militia during the

and served in 1814 as aide-de-camp to Brigadier General John Forster during the Chesapeake Campaign. While in this position, he was elected to the Fourteenth Congress from the congressional district consisting of Lancaster, Dauphin, and Lebanon Counties, but never filled that office. On July 3, 1815 Ellmaker was appointed Judge of the Twelfth Judicial District of Pennsylvania, composed of Dauphin, Lebanon, and Schuylkill Counties. Ellmaker resigned from the bench in December 1816 to accept Governor Simon Snyder's appointment as Pennsylvania Attorney General. Governor William Findlay re-appointed him in 1818, and Ellmaker served until December 1819. In 1817, Ellmaker declined an offer from James Monroe to serve as Secretary of War. During his career, he also twice turned down offers of appointment as Secretary of the Commonwealth, and twice as justice of the

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Judiciary of Pennsylvania, Unified Judicial System. It began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as ...

. In 1821, Ellmaker moved from Harrisburg to Lancaster, where he continued to practice law.

Pennsylvania Railroad

In 1823, Ellmaker was an original incorporator of the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1826, he was an original incorporator of the Columbia, Lancaster and Philadelphia Railroad, as was James Buchanan. In May 1828, Ellmaker returned to the office of state Attorney General, and served until August 1829.

1832 Presidential campaign

In 1832, Ellmaker was the candidate for Vice President on the Anti-Masonic ticket, with William Wirt as the candidate for president. Wirt and Ellmaker won in

, and received seven electoral votes. In 1834, Ellmaker ran for the

, losing to James Buchanan. After this election, Ellmaker retired from politics and continued the practice of law. In 1838, the Lancaster Female Seminary was incorporated, with Ellmaker as one of the original 10 trustees.

Personal life

In 1816, Ellmaker married Mary Rachael Elder (born December 31, 1799 in

; died March 15, 1866), the daughter of Thomas Elder. They had two sons,

Nathaniel Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Hebrew name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. ...

(born April 28, 1817 in Harrisburg) and Levi Ellmaker (born 1828 in Harrisburg).

Death and burial

On November 28, 1851, Ellmaker died in

. He was buried in the churchyard of St. James' Episcopal Church in Lancaster.

References

*Egle, William Henry ''Pennsylvania Genealogies: Chiefly Scots-Irish and German'' (1896). *Ellis, Franklin ''History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men'' (1883) *''Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans'' (1904). Carpenter, Seymour D., 1826?. Genealogical notes of the Carpenter family, including the autobiography, and personal reminiscences of Dr. Seymour D. Carpenter, lieutenant colonel in the war for the union. With genealogical and biographical appendix. editeds by Walker, Edwin Sawyer Springfield, Ill., Illinois state journal co., printers, 1907. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/08005901/. (image 227)

External links

Amos Ellmaker
at ''The Political Graveyard'' * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellmaker, Amos 1787 births 1851 deaths Anti-Masonic Party politicians from Pennsylvania Litchfield Law School alumni Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania state court judges Politicians from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Politicians from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Politicians from Lancaster, Pennsylvania Princeton University alumni Pennsylvania lawyers 1832 United States vice-presidential candidates 19th-century Pennsylvania state court judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American Episcopalians 19th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly