James Dale Strawbridge

James Dale Strawbridge (April 7, 1824 – July 19, 1890) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. He was born in Liberty Township, Pennsylvania, where he spent his early years before pursuing higher education and a professional career that combined medicine, military service, and politics.

Strawbridge attended Princeton College, from which he graduated in 1844. He then undertook medical studies at the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, receiving his medical degree in 1847. Following his formal education, he established himself as a physician in Danville, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in the practice of medicine and became a recognized member of the local professional community.

With the outbreak of the American Civil War, Strawbridge entered the Union Army, bringing his medical training to bear in the service of the United States. He was commissioned as a brigade surgeon of Volunteers and served throughout the war. In this capacity he was responsible for the medical care of soldiers at the brigade level, a role that required both clinical skill and administrative oversight during one of the most challenging periods in the nation’s history. After the conclusion of hostilities, he returned to Danville and resumed his medical practice.

Strawbridge’s public standing as a physician and Civil War veteran contributed to his entry into national politics. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected to represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives as part of the Forty-third Congress. His single term in Congress placed him in the midst of the post–Civil War and Reconstruction-era legislative environment, a significant period in American history. During this time he participated in the democratic process and contributed to the legislative work of the House, representing the interests of his Pennsylvania constituents within the broader national debates of the era.

After completing his one term in Congress, Strawbridge did not continue in elective office but instead returned once more to Danville, where he resumed the full-time practice of medicine. He remained there for the rest of his life, continuing his professional work and maintaining his ties to the community in which he had long lived and served.

James Dale Strawbridge died in Danville, Pennsylvania, on July 19, 1890. He was interred in Fairview Cemetery in Danville, closing a life marked by service as a physician, Civil War surgeon, and Republican congressman from Pennsylvania.