Alexander Harper

Who was Alexander Harper?

Alexander Harper was a U.S. Representative from Ohio.

Born near Belfast, Ireland, Harper immigrated to the United States and settled in Zanesville, Ohio. He pursued preparatory studies, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1813, and commenced practice in Zanesville. He served as member of the Ohio House of Representatives in 1820 and 1821. He served as president judge of the Court of Common Pleas 1822-1836.

Harper was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-fifth Congress. He was later elected to the Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth Congresses. He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office Department, and was on the Committee on Patents.

Harper was again elected to the Thirty-second Congress. He resumed the practice of law. He died in Zanesville on December 1, 1860, and was interred in Greenwood Cemetery.