Ulysses Mercur

Ulysses Mercur (August 12, 1818 – June 6, 1887) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania and chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He was born in Towanda, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, where he spent much of his life and to which he maintained close professional and personal ties. Raised in the northern tier of the Commonwealth, he came of age in a period of rapid political and economic change that would shape his later legal and political career.

Mercur pursued higher education at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, an institution known for training many future public officials. He graduated in 1842. After completing his collegiate studies, he read law in the traditional manner, was admitted to the bar in 1843, and commenced the practice of law in Towanda. His early legal practice established him as a prominent attorney in Bradford County and provided the foundation for his later judicial and legislative service.

By the 1850s, Mercur had become active in the emerging Republican Party. He served as a delegate to the 1856 Republican National Convention, participating in the formative years of the party that would soon dominate national politics during and after the Civil War. His growing reputation as a lawyer and party leader led to his elevation to the bench: he was appointed president judge of the Thirteenth Judicial District of Pennsylvania in 1861. He served in that capacity throughout the Civil War until March 4, 1865, when he resigned the judgeship to take his seat in the United States Congress.

Ulysses Mercur served as a Representative from Pennsylvania in the United States Congress from 1865 to 1873. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected to the Thirty-ninth and to the three succeeding Congresses, serving four consecutive terms. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, encompassing the immediate aftermath of the Civil War and the early years of Reconstruction. As a member of the House of Representatives, Mercur participated in the democratic process, contributed to the legislative work of the Reconstruction-era Congresses, and represented the interests of his Pennsylvania constituents. During the Forty-second Congress he served as chairman of the House Committee on Private Land Claims, a position that placed him at the center of legislative consideration of property and land-title disputes. He served in the House until his resignation on December 2, 1872.

While still concluding his congressional service, Mercur’s judicial career advanced to the state’s highest court. He became an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1872, marking his return to the judiciary after more than a decade in federal legislative office. He served as associate justice from 1872 to 1883, participating in the adjudication of a wide range of civil and criminal matters during a period of industrial growth and legal development in Pennsylvania. In 1883 he was appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. As chief justice, he presided over the court and continued to shape Pennsylvania jurisprudence until his death.

Mercur died in Wallingford, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on June 6, 1887, while still serving as chief justice. He was interred in Oak Hill Cemetery in Towanda, Pennsylvania, returning in death to the community where he had been born, begun his legal career, and maintained enduring connections throughout a lifetime of public service.