William F. Packer

Who was William F. Packer?

William Fisher Packer was the 14th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1858 to 1861. His father was James Packer from Chester County, Pennsylvania and his mother was Charity Packer. His ancestry was primarily Quakers from Philadelphia. When William was seven years old, his father died, leaving him and his four siblings to help run the house.

At the age of 13, he began work as a printer's apprentice at the Sunbury Public Inquirer and later at the Bellefonte Patriot. He also worked as a journeyman at Simon Cameron's newspaper the Pennsylvania Intelligencer in Harrisburg.

Packer studied law in Williamsport, Pennsylvania under future member of Congress Joseph Biles Anthony but did not practice, choosing instead to stay in the newspaper business. In 1827, he purchased a controlling share in the Lycoming Gazette which he published until 1836. While working at the Lycoming Gazette, he began an early foray into politics as a major supporter of the construction of the West Branch of the Pennsylvania Canal. The state legislators in Philadelphia had opposed funding the construction and Packer penned an address to Philadelphia to raise public support for the project.