Preceded by John Andrew Shulze Resting place Harrisburg Cemetery | Succeeded by Joseph Ritner Name George Wolf | |
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Preceded by Thomas J. Rogers,
Samuel D. Ingham Succeeded by Peter Ihrie, Jr.,
Samuel A. Smith Born August 12, 1777
Allen Township, Pennsylvania ( 1777-08-12 ) Died March 11, 1840(1840-03-11) (aged 62)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | ||
George Wolf (August 12, 1777 – March 11, 1840) was the seventh Governor of Pennsylvania from 1829 to 1835. On June 29, 1888, he was recognized as the “father of the public-school system” in Pennsylvania by the erection of a memorial gateway at Easton.
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Early years
Wolf was born in Allen Township, Pennsylvania. His parents, George and Mary Wolf, had immigrated from Alsace, a then-province of the Holy Roman Empire, in 1751. George Wolf was educated at a classical school, taught for some time, and then studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1799 and commenced practice in Easton, Pennsylvania. He became a member of the Republican Party at the start of Thomas Jefferson's administration, and was appointed postmaster of Easton, which office he filled in 1802 and 1803. He was clerk of the orphans’ court of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, from 1803 to 1809. He was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1814.
Wolf married Mary Erb (1781–1833) of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on June 5, 1798. The couple had eight sons and one daughter.
U.S. House of Representatives
Wolf was elected without opposition to the United States House of Representatives in 1824 to the Eighteenth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Thomas J. Rogers. He was reelected to the Nineteenth, Twentieth, and Twenty-first Congresses. He took the protectionist side in debates on the tariff.
Governor of Pennsylvania
As member of the Jacksonian Democratic Party, Wolf defeated Joseph Ritner in both 1829 and 1832 to become the Governor of Pennsylvania. He lost the governor's seat to the Anti-Mason candidate Ritner in 1835, owing to the defection of a part of the Democrats, who voted for Henry A. Muhlenberg.
As governor, Wolf persuaded the legislature to construct canals and impose new taxes for the liquidation of debts that had already been incurred on account of internal improvements. Wolf advocated the establishment of a general system of common schools, and by strenuous efforts accomplished this reform where former governors had failed.
Later years
In 1836 Andrew Jackson appointed him as first Comptroller of the Treasury. Two years later President Martin Van Buren appointed him as Collector of Customs for the District of Philadelphia in a job swap with James Nelson Barker. He held this office until his death.
Legacy
Wolf Hall on the campus of Penn State University is named for George Wolf. Wolf Township in Lycoming County is also named for him, as is Wolf Street in Philadelphia. The Governor Wolf Building, built in 1893 as the first Easton High School in Easton, and the George Wolf Elementary School in Bath are also named for Governor Wolf.