Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 08.djvu/183

 PACKER

PADDOCK

PACKER, John Black, representative, -was born in Sunbury, Pa., March 21, 1824; son of Samuel Jones and Rachel (Black) Packer; grand- son of James and Rose (Mendenhall) Packer; great grandson of Philip and Ann (Coates) Packer; and greats-grandson of Philip Packer, who emigrated from England about 1700, settled near Princeton, N.J., and was married to Rebecca Jones, of Philadelphia. John attended the academj-- at Sunbury, and was attached to the state corps of engineers, 1839-42. He studied law with Ebenezer Greenough; was admitted to the bar in 1844, and practiced in Sunbury. He was deputy attorney-general of Pennsylvania, 1845-48; district attorney of Northumberland county, 1849-50, and a representative in the state legislature, 1850-51. He was married May 22, 1851, to Mary M., daughter of William Cameron, of Lewisburg, Pa. He was a Republican represen- tative from the fourteenth Pennsylvania district in the 41st-44th congresses, 1869-77, and in 1876 declined the appointment of postmaster-general of the United States, offered by President Grant. He died in Sunbury, Pa., July 7, 1891.

PACKER, William Fisher, governor of Penn- sylvania, was born in Howard, Centre county. Pa., April 2, 1807; son of James and Charity (Bye) Packer; grandson of James and Rose (Mendenhall) Packer, and of Hezekiah and Sarah (Pettit) B3'e, and a descendant of Philip and Ann (Coates) Packer. Philip Packer, an English Quaker, was among the first immigrants to West Jersey under the auspices of William Penn. His ancestors on both sides were Quakers. He at- tended the country school, and in 1820 apprenticed himself to his kinsman, Samuel J. Packer, editor of the Public Inquirer, at Sunbury, Pa. He worked in the office of the Pat riot, at Bellefonte, Pa., and in the office of the Pennsylvania Intelligencer, pub- lished by Simon Cameron and David Krause, public printers at Harrisburg, where he remained until 1827. He studied law in the office of Joseph B. Anthony at Williamsport, Pa., in 1827, and in the fall of that year purchased in connection with John Brandon the Lycoming Gazette, con- ducted jointly until 1829, when he continued it alone, 1829-36. He was married Dec. 24, 1829, to Mary W., daughter of Peter W. Vanderbilt, of Williamsport, Pa. He was a delegate to the Democratic national convention at Baltimore, Md., in 1835, and in 1836 united with O. Barrett and Benjamin Parke in establishing TJie Keystone, at Harrisburg, which became the organ of the Democratic party in that state, and from which he retired in 1841. He was a member of the board of canal commissioners, 1839-41; auditor- general of the state, 1842-45; a representative in the state legislature, 1847-48, and speaker of that body both terms. He was a state senator, 1849-

51; introducing and carrying through the bill to incorporate the Susquehanna railroad company, the beginning of railroad connections with Balti- more, Md. He was made president of the Sus- quehanna railroad company on its organization in June 1852, and upon its consolidation under the title of the Northern Central railway company, continued as a member of the board of directors. He managed the Lake Shore railroad from 1854 until its difficulties were set- tled, and was a delegate to the Democratic na- tional convention at Cincinnati, Ohio, June 2, 1856, when he urged the nomination of James Buchanan. He was governor of Pennsylvania, 1858-61, and strongly opposed the secession of the southern states. He died in Williamsport, Pa., Sept. 27, 1870.

PADDOCK, Algernon Sidney, senator, was born in Glens Falls, N.Y., Nov. 9, 1830; son of Ira A. and Lucinda (Wells) Paddock; grandson of Joseph Williamson Paddock, of Connecticut, and a descendant of John Faunce and Governor Bradford. He attended the academy at Glens Falls, N.Y., studied law, and was admitted to the bar in Nebraska territory in 1857. He was married in 1859, to Emma L., daughter of Daniel and Lucinda (Perry) Mack, of Connecticut. He settled in practice in Omaha; was an unsuccess- ful candidate for the territorial legislature in 1858, and a delegate to the first Republican terri- torial convention in 1859. He was a delegate to the Republican national convention at Chicago, May 16, 1860; secretary of the territory by ap- pointment from President Lincoln, 1861-67, most of the time acting as governor. He was delegate to the Republican national convention of 1864; defeated as an Independent Republican candidate for representative in the 40th congress in 1866; declined the appointment of governor of Wyo- ming territory in 1868; removed to Beatrice, whei'e he engaged in manufacturing and agricul- tural pursuits, and was elected to the U.S. senate by both Republican and Democratic votes, serv- ing 1875-81. He was defeated by Charles H. Van Wyck in 1881; was a member of the Utah commission, 1882-86, and was re-elected to the U.S. senate for the term, 1887-93, where he was chairman of the committee on agriculture and forestry. Paddock, the county seat of Holt county, was named in his honor in 1875. He died in Beatrice, Neb., Oct. 17, 1897.

PADDOCK, Benjamin Henry, fourth bishop of Massachusetts and 102d in succession in the American episcopate, was born in Norwich, Conn., Feb. 28, 1828; son of the Rev. Seth B. Paddock, rector of Christ church, Norwich, Conn. He was graduated at Trinity college, A.B., 1848, A.M., 1851, taught in the Episcopal academy at Ches- hire Conn., 1848, and was graduated at the Gen-