John Winebrenner Rife

John Winebrenner Rife (born August 14, 1846 in Middletown , Pennsylvania , †  April 17, 1908 there ) was an American politician . Between 1889 and 1893 he represented the state of Pennsylvania in the US House of Representatives .

Career

John Rife attended the public schools in his home country and then completed an apprenticeship in tanning. In 1864 he took part in the Civil War as a soldier in a Pennsylvania infantry regiment . He later embarked on a political career as a member of the Republican Party . In 1871 he was on the Middletown Parish Council; in 1877 and 1878 he was mayor there. Between 1885 and 1886 he was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives . Rife also got into the railroad business and became president of the Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad Co.

In the congressional elections of 1888 Rife was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the 14th  constituency of Pennsylvania , where he succeeded Franklin Bound on March 4, 1889 . After re-election, he was able to complete two legislative terms in Congress until March 3, 1893 . In 1892 he renounced another candidacy. After his time in the US House of Representatives, John Rife no longer appeared politically. He died on April 17, 1908 in Middletown, where he was also buried.

Web links

• John Winebrenner Rife in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• John Winebrenner Rife in the database of Find a Grave (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Franklin Bound	United States House Representative for Pennsylvania (14th constituency) March 4, 1889 - March 3, 1893	Ephraim Milton Woomer