John Gebhard (February 22, 1782 – January 3, 1854) was an American lawyer and politician from

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Life

Gebhard attended the public schools of Columbia County. He studied law with his brother Jacob, 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 ...

and practiced in Schoharie County. He was the county Surrogate from 1811 to 1813, and from 1815 to 1823. In addition to practicing law, Gebhard farmed and was involved in several business ventures, including construction over the Schoharie Creek of the Middleburgh Bridge, which travelers paid tolls to use. Gebhard was elected as a

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to the

17th United States Congress The 17th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. While its term was officially March 4, 1821, ...

, holding office from December 3, 1821, to March 3, 1823. Afterwards he resumed the practice of law. Gebhard was also an amateur geologist and mineralogist, and with his son John Gebhard, Jr. (1802-1887) was one of the first explorers of the limestone caves in and around Schoharie County, including

Howe Caverns Howe Caverns is a limestone solutional cave, operated as a show cave, in the hamlet of Howes Cave, Schoharie County, New York. Howe Caverns is a popular tourist attraction, providing visitors with a sense of caving or spelunking, without needin ...

. Gebhard amassed a large personal collection of minerals found in the caves, and provided samples to other academics and researchers. John Gebhard, Jr. was later employed by the

New York State Museum of Natural History New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

, to which his family later sold the senior Gebhard's collection. He was buried at St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery in Schoharie. Gebhard's daughter Charlotte was the wife of

Charles Goodyear Charles Goodyear (December 29, 1800 – July 1, 1860) was an American self-taught chemist and manufacturing engineer who developed vulcanized rubber, for which he received patent number 3633 from the United States Patent Office on June 15, 1844 ...

, who also served in Congress.

References

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1782 births 1854 deaths New York (state) lawyers People from Claverack, New York People from Schoharie, New York Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century New York state court judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century New York (state) politicians 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives {{NewYork-Representative-stub