Stephen Fowler Wilson (September 4, 1821 – March 30, 1897) was an American lawyer, politician and judge 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 ...

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 18th congressional district from 1865 to 1869. He also 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 ...

for the 1st district from 1863 to 1865.

Early life and education

Wilson was born in Columbia Township, Pennsylvania the youngest of seven children born to George and Jane Wilson. He studied law under the Honorable James Lowrey and in 1845 was admitted to the Tioga County bar. He practiced law for almost 25 years. He was originally a Democrat but switched to a Republican when that party was founded. He held several local offices.

Career

He was a member of the

for the 1st district from 1863 to 1865 and served in one session after he had been elected a Representative to Congress. He was a delegate to the

1864 Republican National Convention The 1864 National Union National Convention was the United States presidential nominating convention of the National Union Party, which was a name adopted by the main faction of the Republican Party in a coalition with many, if not most, W ...

. Wilson was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses. He was appointed additional judge of the fourth judicial district of Pennsylvania in 1871 to fill a vacancy. He was elected additional judge and served ten years. He was appointed associate justice of the supreme court of the New Mexico Territorial Supreme Court by President

Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was the 21st president of the United States, serving from 1881 to 1885. He was a Republican from New York who previously served as the 20th vice president under President James A. ...

on October 16, 1884. He was president judge of the fourth judicial district of Pennsylvania from 1887 to 1889. He resumed the practice of law in

Wellsboro, Pennsylvania Wellsboro is a borough in and the county seat of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough was founded by Benjamin Wistar Morris. It is located northwest of Williamsport. The population was 3,472 at the 2020 census. Early in the ...

, where he died in 1897. Interment in Wellsboro Cemetery in

Notes

Sources

The Political Graveyard
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Stephen Fowler 1821 births 1897 deaths New Mexico Territory judges Pennsylvania lawyers Pennsylvania state court judges Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators People from Bradford County, Pennsylvania People from Tioga County, Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 19th-century Pennsylvania state court judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives