John Francis Harter

John Francis Harter (September 1, 1897 – December 20, 1947) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New York who served one term in Congress from 1939 to 1941. Over the course of his career he was active in the legal profession and in public life in western New York, and he represented his district during a significant pre–World War II period in American history.

Harter was born on September 1, 1897, in Perry, Wyoming County, New York. Details of his early schooling are not extensively documented, but his subsequent admission to law school and his later professional activities indicate a solid preparatory education in the region. Coming of age as the United States entered World War I, he was part of the generation whose early adulthood was shaped by national mobilization and military training.

During World War I, Harter attended the United States Army Officers’ Training Camp at Camp Lee, Virginia. His time at Camp Lee placed him within the broader national effort to train officers and prepare American forces for overseas service. Although there is no detailed public record of his subsequent military assignments, his participation in officers’ training reflected both his leadership potential and his engagement in national service during a critical period.

After the war, Harter pursued legal studies. He received a law degree from the University at Buffalo Law School in 1919, an institution that would later become part of the State University of New York system. Upon graduation, he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Buffalo, New York. Establishing himself in Buffalo’s legal community, he built a professional career that provided the foundation for his later entry into electoral politics and public office.

Harter’s political career culminated in his election to the United States House of Representatives as a Republican from New York in 1938. He took his seat in the 67th Congress and served from January 3, 1939, to January 3, 1941. As a member of the House of Representatives, Harter participated in the legislative process during a pivotal era marked by the final years of the Great Depression and growing international tensions on the eve of World War II. A member of the Republican Party, he contributed to debates over domestic and foreign policy and represented the interests of his New York constituents in the federal legislature.

In the 1940 election, Harter sought a second term in Congress but ran unsuccessfully for reelection, losing to Democrat Alfred F. Beiter. His defeat ended his congressional service after one term, but his time in office placed him among those lawmakers who navigated the complex transition from the New Deal era toward the wartime footing that would soon define national policy. After leaving Congress, he returned to private life and to the legal profession in the Buffalo area.

In his personal life, Harter was married to Lillian Unholz Harter. The couple had two children, a son, Charles F. Harter, and a daughter, Geraldine R. Harter. He continued to reside in the Buffalo region, maintaining ties to the community in which he had practiced law and from which he had launched his political career.

John Francis Harter died in Eggertsville, New York, a suburban community near Buffalo, on December 20, 1947. He was interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, a historic burial ground that is the final resting place for many of the city’s prominent citizens. His career reflected the trajectory of a lawyer and public servant who rose from small-town origins in Perry, New York, to serve in the national legislature during a consequential period in United States history.