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"Whig Member of Congress" Ner Middleswarth Clipped Signature Todd Mueller COA
$ 184.79
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Description
Up for auction a RARE! "Whig Member of Congress" Ner Middleswarth Clipped Signature.This item is certified authentic by Todd Mueller Autographs and comes with their Certificate of Authenticity.
ES-0927
Ner Middleswarth
(December 12, 1783 – June 2, 1865) was an American politician from
New Jersey
who served as a
Whig
member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
for
Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district
from 1853 to 1855. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from 1815 to 1841 including two terms as speaker of the house. He also served as a member of the
Pennsylvania Senate
for the
15th district
from 1853 to 1854. Middleswarth was born on December 12, 1783 in New Jersey, of Dutch ancestry, the son of John and Martha (Reed) Middleswarth.
He was baptized 12 April 1745 in
Somerset County, New Jersey
. John Middleswarth served as a Quartermaster Sergeant for Colonel Sylvanus Seely's regiment in the New Jersey militia during the
American Revolution
. John Middleswarth was from the Van Middleswaert family, who came from the Netherlands to
New Amsterdam
to
Flatbush
and then moved to Somerset, New Jersey in the 1690s. The Dutch used a Patronymic naming system and took the first name of the father, and made it the last name. Teunis Nyssen, the ancestor who came to America from Ultrecht, Binnick, Netherlands, used Nyssen or DeNys. His son Jan Teunis Nyssen baptized 1654 used a last name of Teunison and eventually the surname Van Middleswart. In 1792, Middleswarth moved with his parents to
Northumberland County, Pennsylvania
. He grew up on this farm with his brother Abraham, and his four sisters-Mary, Martha, Rachel and Rebecca. Indians would visit the spring near their home to cure their meat and game. Ner had only three months of formal schooling. He was self-taught in both the English and
Pennsylvania German
languages and spoke both fluently. He grew up to be a strong 200-pound man, filled with a strong sense of duty to his friends and neighbors. He married Christine Schwartzkop and raised a family of twelve children. In 1812, Ner Middleswarth raised a company of Volunteers and entered the
war of 1812
as Captain, attached to the Pennsylvania Riflemen. Again in 1814, he raised another company which was attached to General
Thomas McCall Cadwalader
's Division, commanded by Colonel Uhl during the
Niagara campaign
.
At the completion of his military service in 1815, Middleswarth was elected to the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
. He was re-elected for thirteen terms during the period of 1815-1842 in the Legislature. During his tenure, he was named as
Speaker of the House
in 1828 and 1836. He was elected to the
Pennsylvania State Senate
, for one term, and from 1853 to 1855 he was a member of the
United States House of Representatives
from
Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district
. He was a
Whig
, and later a Republican. In 1858, he served as an Associate Judge of the county. This was his final role as a public servant. Ner was quite successful in business outside of government. He lost a great deal of his wealth, however, on a failed iron business called "Beaver Furnace" near
Paxtonville, Pennsylvania
. Middleswarth died at the age of 81 years on June 2, 1865. He is buried with his wife Christina Schwartzkop at Beavertown Cemetery in
Beavertown, Snyder County, Pennsylvania
.