Patrick Farrelly

Patrick Farrelly (1770 – January 12, 1826) was an Irish-born American lawyer, state legislator, militia officer, and member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. A member of the Farrelly family and the father of future congressman John Wilson Farrelly, he played a role in both Pennsylvania state politics and national legislative affairs during the early decades of the nineteenth century, including the formative years of the Jacksonian movement.

Farrelly was born in 1770 in the Kingdom of Ireland, where he spent his early life before emigrating to the United States. He immigrated in 1798, during a period of significant political upheaval in both Europe and America, and settled in Pennsylvania. Seeking professional advancement in his adopted country, he pursued the study of law and prepared for admission to the bar.

On July 11, 1803, Farrelly was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Meadville, Pennsylvania. Meadville, then a growing community in the northwestern part of the state, became the center of his professional and political life. As a lawyer, he established himself sufficiently to enter public service, and his legal background informed his later work as a legislator at both the state and federal levels.

Farrelly’s political career began in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where he served as a member in 1811 and 1812. His tenure in the state legislature coincided with rising tensions between the United States and Great Britain, and when the War of 1812 broke out, he served in the conflict as a major of militia. This combination of legislative experience and military service helped to elevate his standing in Pennsylvania politics and prepared him for national office.

In addition to his political and military roles, Farrelly was recognized in the intellectual and historical community. He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1820, reflecting his engagement with the preservation and study of American history and culture at a time when the young nation was still defining its identity.

Farrelly entered national politics as a representative from Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected as a Republican to the Seventeenth Congress, and as the nation’s party system evolved, he was reelected as a Jackson Republican to the Eighteenth Congress and as a Jacksonian candidate to the Nineteenth Congress. As a member of the Jackson Party representing Pennsylvania, he contributed to the legislative process during three terms in office, participating in the democratic process and representing the interests of his constituents during a significant period in American history marked by debates over economic policy, federal power, and the emerging Jacksonian movement.

Patrick Farrelly served in Congress from the beginning of his first term through his death in office. He died in Meadville, Pennsylvania, on January 12, 1826, while still a sitting member of the Nineteenth Congress. His death placed him among the early members of the United States Congress who died in office between 1790 and 1899. He was interred in Greendale Cemetery in Meadville, where his career as a lawyer, state legislator, militia officer, and congressman had been centered.