John Klingensmith Jr. (March 26, 1786 – February 8, 1854) was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Jacksonian member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for

Pennsylvania's 19th congressional district Pennsylvania's 19th congressional district was a congressional district that became obsolete for the 113th Congress in 2013, due to Pennsylvania's slower population growth compared to the rest of the nation. In its last incarnation, the district ...

from 1835 to 1839.

Biography

John Klingensmith Jr. was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania to John J. Sr. and Anna Elizabeth (Kauffer) Klingensmith. He was

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

of Westmoreland County from 1819 to 1822 and again from 1828 to 1831.

Career

Klingensmith was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-fourth Congress and reelected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Twenty-fifth Congress. He was 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, staggered ev ...

for the 18th district from 1831 to 1835 and served as secretary of the land office of Pennsylvania from 1839 to 1842. Klingensmith was co-owner of The Greensburg Democrat newspaper from 1853 to 1854.

Death

He died in 1854 in Westmoreland County.

Footnotes

Sources

The Political Graveyard
, - 1786 births 1854 deaths 19th-century American newspaper founders 19th-century American legislators Burials in Pennsylvania Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 19th-century Pennsylvania politicians Pennsylvania sheriffs Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania American people of German descent {{Pennsylvania-Representative-stub