John Edgar Reyburn (February 7, 1845 – January 4, 1914) was an American politician who served as 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 ...

for

Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district Pennsylvania's fourth congressional district, effective January 3, 2023, encompasses the majority of Montgomery County and most of Berks County northeast of Reading in southeastern Pennsylvania. In the 2020 redistricting cycle, the Pennsylva ...

from 1890 to 1897 and Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district from 1906 to 1907. He served as a member of 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 ...

in 1871 and again from 1874 to 1876. He served as a member of the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four-year terms, stagger ...

from 1876 to 1890 including as president pro tempore in 1883. He served as

Mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Cherelle Parker, who is the first woman to hold the ...

from 1907 to 1911.

Early life and education

Reyburn was born on February 7, 1845, in

New Carlisle, Ohio New Carlisle ( ) is a city in Clark County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,559 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Ohio metropolitan area. History New Carlisle was originally called Monroe, and under the latter name w ...

, to William and Lydia Reader Crane Reyburn. He was taught by a private tutor and attended the Saunders Institute in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. He studied law under E. Spencer Miller, was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1870, and opened a law practice in Philadelphia.

Career

Reyburn was a member of the

in 1871 and again in 1874 through 1876. He was a member of the

from 1876 through 1892 and served as president pro tempore during the session of 1883. Elected to Congress as a Republican to fill the vacancy left by the death of William D. Kelley, Reyburn was reelected three times and served from February 18, 1890, to March 3, 1897, until he was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in

1896 Events January * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports Wilhelm Röntgen's dis ...

. He was again elected to Congress to fill the vacancy left by the death of Robert Adams, Jr. and was reelected in

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

to the

60th United States Congress The 60th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1907, to M ...

, serving from November 6, 1906, to March 31, 1907, when he resigned to serve as

. Elected in the 1907 Philadelphia mayoral election, he served as mayor from April 1, 1907, to December 4, 1911. As mayor, he led the Philadelphia Republican

political machine In the politics of representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a high degree of leadership c ...

and his tenure was marred with several instances of corruption. Reyburn was charged with receiving $450,000 from corporations and public officials. While several officials and contractors were convicted for bribery, Reyburn was not and claimed that his name was forged on the documents. He was engaged in manufacturing in Philadelphia, but retained a residence in Washington, D.C.

Personal life

He married Margaretta Eleanor Crozier in 1881 and together they had three children; Eleanor Reyburn Harrington, Robert Crozier Reyburn, and Congressman William Stuart Reyburn. He was a yachting enthusiast and owned several estates in the United States and one in Canada.

Death

Reyburn died on January 4, 1914, in his Washington, D.C. residence and was interred in

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery, also called Laurel Hill East to distinguish it from the affiliated West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, Bala Cynwyd, is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls, Philadelphia, East Falls neighborhood ...

in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

References

External links

The Political Graveyard

Grave
1845 births 1914 deaths American political bosses from Pennsylvania Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Mayors of Philadelphia People from New Carlisle, Ohio Politicians from Philadelphia Presidents pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly {{Pennsylvania-mayor-stub