Ingersoll, Joseph R.

Born: 1786-06-14 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Died: 1868-02-20 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Ingersoll pursued classical studies and graduated from the College of New Jersey (Princeton) in 1804. He studied law, earned admittance to the Pennsylvania bar, and started a practice in Philadelphia. Ingersoll won election, as a Whig, to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1835 to 1837. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1836 and resumed his law practice. In 1841, Ingersoll was elected back to the House to fill a vacancy and won reelection to three separate terms, serving until 1849. In 1852, President Millard Fillmore appointed him as minister to Great Britain, a position he held until 1853.

Biographical Directory of the American Congress 1774-1996 (Alexandria, VA: CQ Staff Directories, 1997), 1268; Gravestone, Saint Peter's Episcopal Churchyard, Philadelphia, PA.