David Petrikin

David Petrikin (December 1, 1788 – March 1, 1847) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania who combined a medical career, local public service, and national legislative responsibilities during the early nineteenth century. He was born on December 1, 1788, in Bellefonte, Centre County, Pennsylvania, then a developing community in the central part of the state. Little is recorded about his parents or early family life, but his subsequent professional pursuits indicate that he received sufficient early education to undertake formal study in a learned profession.

Petrikin pursued the study of medicine as a young man and was admitted to practice as a physician. After qualifying, he moved to Danville, in what was then Columbia County, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in the practice of medicine. His relocation to Danville placed him in a growing regional center along the North Branch of the Susquehanna River, where he established himself as a local doctor serving the surrounding community.

During the War of 1812, Petrikin entered national service in a medical capacity. He served as a surgeon with the Second Regiment of the Pennsylvania Riflemen, providing medical care to soldiers during the conflict between the United States and Great Britain. Following the conclusion of the war, he returned to Danville and resumed the practice of medicine. In addition to his medical work, he engaged in local enterprise by erecting and operating a woolen mill, reflecting the early industrial development of the region and his participation in its economic life.

Petrikin’s involvement in public affairs expanded as he took on county and state responsibilities. On March 15, 1821, he was elected prothonotary of Columbia County, Pennsylvania, serving as the chief clerk of the county courts and managing important judicial and administrative records. He later became a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, participating in the legislative process at the state level, although the specific years of his service in the state legislature are not documented in the surviving record. From February 1, 1834, to March 21, 1837, he served as postmaster of Danville, overseeing the local postal service at a time when the post office was a central institution in community and commercial life.

Building on his local and state experience, Petrikin was elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Congresses, representing Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1837, to March 3, 1841. During his second term he served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds in the Twenty-sixth Congress, a position that placed him in a key role overseeing matters related to federal buildings and the physical infrastructure of the national government in Washington, D.C. His congressional service occurred during a period marked by debates over economic policy, internal improvements, and the evolving role of the federal government, though the record does not detail his specific positions on these issues.

After leaving Congress in 1841, Petrikin returned to private life in Pennsylvania. While the surviving accounts do not extensively describe his later activities, his earlier pattern of service suggests that he likely remained engaged in local affairs and in the professional and civic life of his community. He died in Catawissa, Pennsylvania, on March 1, 1847. Petrikin was interred in Petrikin Cemetery in Danville, which was later converted into a memorial park, preserving the site of his burial as part of the community’s historical landscape.