John Alexander Ahl (August 16, 1813 – April 25, 1882) was a surgeon, real estate developer, paper mill and iron furnace operator, railroad executive and

United States Congressman 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 the ...

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 was born in

Strasburg, Pennsylvania Strasburg is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. It developed as a linear village stretching approximately along the Great Conestoga Road, later known as the Strasburg Road.Susan M. Zacher, NRHP Nomination Form Stra ...

in 1813.

Life and career

Ahl studied medicine at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, and graduated in 1832. He moved to Centerville, Pennsylvania, where he practiced medicine through 1856. That year, he began in the real estate business, bought a paper mill in

Newville, Pennsylvania Newville is a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough is located west of Carlisle. The population was 1,376 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area. Newville is s ...

, and served as a delegate to the

1856 Democratic National Convention The 1856 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that met from June 2 to June 6 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was held to nominate the Democratic Party's candidates for president and vice president in the 1856 election ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Congress

He was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

in 1857, leaving upon the completion of his first term.

Later career

After Congress, he manufactured paper and operated an iron furnace in

Sharpsburg, Maryland Sharpsburg is a town in Washington County, Maryland. The town is approximately south of Hagerstown. Its population was 560 at the 2020 census. During the American Civil War, the Battle of Antietam, referred to as the Battle of Sharpsburg by th ...

. He also served as the planner and the major builder of the

Harrisburg and Potomac Railroad 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 ...

Death

He died in Newville in 1882, and is buried in Big Spring Presbyterian Cemetery.

References

*''Who Was Who in America: Historical Volume, 1607-1896.'' Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1963.
The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahl, John Alexander 1813 births 1882 deaths People from Strasburg, Pennsylvania Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania University of Maryland, College Park alumni 19th-century American railroad executives 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives