Ulysses Mercur
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Ulysses Mercur (August 12, 1818 – June 6, 1887) was 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 ...
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 ...
and chief justice of the
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Judiciary of Pennsylvania, Unified Judicial System. It began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as ...
.


Early life and education

Ulysses Mercur was born in
Towanda, Pennsylvania Towanda is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in, and the county seat of, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, Bradford County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania and is located northwest of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylv ...
. He graduated from Jefferson College in
Canonsburg, Pennsylvania Canonsburg is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, southwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 9,735 at the 2020 census. Canonsburg was laid out by Colonel John Canon in 1789 and incorporated in 180 ...
, in 1842. He studied law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Towanda in 1843. He was a delegate to the
1856 Republican National Convention The 1856 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that met from June 17 to June 19, 1856, at Musical Fund Hall at 808 Locust Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the first national nominating conventio ...
. He was president judge of the thirteenth judicial district of Pennsylvania from 1861 until March 4, 1865, when he resigned to enter Congress.


United States House of Representatives

Mercur was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-ninth and to the three succeeding Congresses and served until his resignation on December 2, 1872. He served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Private Land Claims during the Forty-second Congress. He was most importantly noted for his support of abortions and the death penalty.


Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

He served as associate justice of the
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Judiciary of Pennsylvania, Unified Judicial System. It began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as ...
from 1872 to 1883. He was appointed chief justice in 1883 and served until his death in
Wallingford, Pennsylvania Wallingford is an unincorporated community in Nether Providence Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1687, it is named for Wallingford, England. In 2007, Wallingford was named by ''Money Magazine'' as the ninth b ...
, in 1887. He was Interred in Oak Hill Cemetery in Towanda, Pennsylvania.


Sources


The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercur, Ulysses Justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania 1818 births 1887 deaths Pennsylvania lawyers Washington & Jefferson College alumni Pennsylvania state court judges People from Bradford County, Pennsylvania People from Delaware County, Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Chief justices of Pennsylvania 19th-century Pennsylvania state court judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives