John W. Howe (March 11, 1801November 30, 1873) was a

Free Soil The Free Soil Party, also called the Free Democratic Party or the Free Democracy, was a political party in the United States from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was focused on opposing the expansion of slav ...

and Whig 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 ...

Biography

Howe was born in Massachusetts'

District of Maine The District of Maine was the governmental designation for what is now the U.S. state of Maine from October 25, 1780, to March 15, 1820, when it was Admission to the Union, admitted to the Union as the List of U.S. states by date of admission to ...

in 1801. He studied law and was admitted to the bar. He moved to

Smethport, Pennsylvania Smethport is a borough in and the county seat of McKean County, Pennsylvania, United States. The mayor is Wayne V. Foltz. The population was 1,430 at the 2020 census. Smethport is part of the Bradford, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area, Bradford, ...

, and then to

Franklin, Pennsylvania Franklin is a city in and the county seat of Venango County, Pennsylvania, United States, located at the confluence of French Creek and the Allegheny River. The population was 6,097 in the 2020 census. Franklin is part of the Oil City microp ...

, in 1829 and commenced the practice of law. He also served as justice of the peace. Howe was elected as a Free Soil candidate to the Thirty-first Congress and reelected as a Whig to the Thirty-second Congress. He moved to

Meadville, Pennsylvania Meadville is a city in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 13,050 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The first permanent settlement in Northwestern Pennsylvania, Meadville is withi ...

, and later to

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, where he died in 1873. Interment in Greendale Cemetery in

Sources

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howe, John W. 1801 births 1873 deaths 19th-century Maine politicians Pennsylvania Free Soilers Free Soil Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 19th-century people from Pennsylvania Burials at Greendale Cemetery 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives