John Blanchard

John Blanchard served as a Representative from Pennsylvania in the United States Congress from 1845 to 1849. A member of the Whig Party, John Blanchard contributed to the legislative process during 2 terms in office.

John Blanchard’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. As a member of the House of Representatives, John Blanchard participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents.

John Blanchard (September 30, 1787 – March 9, 1849) was a Whig member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. John Blanchard was born in Peacham, Vermont. He taught school, and graduated from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, in 1812. He moved to Pennsylvania in 1812 and settled in York, Pennsylvania, where he again taught school. He studied law, was admitted to the bar March 31, 1815, and commenced practice in Lewistown, Pennsylvania. He moved to Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, the same year and continued the practice of law. He owned slaves. Blanchard was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Congresses. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1848. He died in Columbia, Pennsylvania, en route from Washington, D.C., to his home in 1849. Interment in Union Cemetery in Bellefonte. His son Edmund Blanchard became a prominent businessman in Bellefonte.