Harris Jacob Bixler (September 16, 1870 – March 29, 1941) 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 ...

for three terms from 1921 to 1927.

Early life and career

Harris J. Bixler was born in

New Buffalo, Pennsylvania New Buffalo is a borough in Perry County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 124 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Harrisburg metropolitan area. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough h ...

. He attended Lock Haven State Normal School. He taught school in the country districts in

Perry Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...

and

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has also been used as a given nam ...

Counties from 1878 to 1892. He attended Potts Business College in

Williamsport, Pennsylvania Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 27,754. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a populati ...

Business

He moved to

Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania Johnsonburg is a borough in Elk County, Pennsylvania, northeast of Pittsburgh and south of Buffalo, New York, in a productive farming and lumbering region. Paper mills were once common in the borough, with the Domtar mill still operating. In ...

, in 1892 and worked as a shipping clerk. He was later engaged in banking and manufacturing, and served as director of the Johnsonburg National Bank.

Early political career

He served as president of the city council from 1900 to 1904 and as president of the board of education from 1904 to 1910. He was mayor of Johnsonburg from 1908 to 1912, and sheriff of

Elk County, Pennsylvania Elk County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 30,990. Its county seat is Ridgway. The county was created on April 18, 1843, from parts of Jefferson, Clearfield, and McKe ...

, from 1916 to 1920. He served as chairman of the Republican county committee from 1916 to 1925, and as a treasurer of Elk County from 1920 to 1922.

Congress

In 1920, Bixler was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-seventh, Sixty-eighth, and Sixty-ninth Congresses. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1926.

Later career and death

He was engaged in business as a freight contractor and also interested in agricultural pursuits. He died in Johnsonburg. Interment in Duncannon Cemetery in

Duncannon, Pennsylvania Duncannon is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Perry County, Pennsylvania, Perry County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,473 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisbu ...

Sources

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bixler, Harris, J 1870 births 1941 deaths Politicians from Williamsport, Pennsylvania People from Elk County, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania city council members Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania alumni Pennsylvania sheriffs Mayors of places in Pennsylvania Schoolteachers from Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania School board members in Pennsylvania 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives