William Fisher Packer

Background

William Fisher Packer was born on April 2, 1807 in Howard Township, Pennsylvania, United States. He was the son of James and Charity (Bye) Packer.

Education

William Packer received but little schooling since his father, a farmer, died when William was but seven years old. In January 1820 he apprenticed himself to a relative, Samuel J. Packer, who was editor of the Public Inquirer at Sunbury, Pennsylvania, to learn the printing trade.

Career

The paper Public Inquirer was discontinued and William Fisher Packer entered the office of Henry Petrikin, publisher of the Bellefonte Patriot at Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. In 1825 he went to Harrisburg and worked as a journeyman printer on the Pennsylvania Intelligencer, published by Charles Mowry and Simon Cameron. Two years later he was appointed clerk in the register's office of Lycoming County at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and at the same time commenced the study of law in the office of Joseph B. Anthony of that place.

In the fall of 1827 William Fisher Packer formed a connection with John Brandon, publisher of the Lycoming Gazette, which at this time was the only newspaper issued in the northern part of Pennsylvania. On August 18, 1829, he became the sole owner of the paper and published it until May 1836, when he sold it to John R. Eck. The Gazette was a Democratic paper and as its editor Packer became a leader in the local affairs of that party and was sent as a delegate to the National Democratic Convention at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1835.

Eventually, William Fisher Packer became known as one of the ablest politicians of Pennsylvania. In 1831 Packer worked to secure state appropriations for the completion of the West Branch Division of the Pennsylvania Canal, and from June 1832 until 1835, when the canal was completed, he was superintendent of that division. In 1836 he joined with O. Barrett and Benjamin Parke in publishing the Keystone at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which in a short time became a strong influence in Pennsylvania politics. He retained his interest in this paper until 1841. In February 1839 he was appointed a canal commissioner for the state and served until 1841. The following year he was appointed auditor-general of Pennsylvania and held this office until May 1, 1845.

In 1847 and again in 1848 William Fisher Packer was elected a member of the state House of Representatives and during both terms served as speaker. In 1849 he was elected to the state Senate. Here he carried through, against strong opposition, the bill to incorporate the Susquehanna Railroad Company, and upon the organization of the company on June 10, 1852, he was made its president. He served until 1854, when the road was consolidated with others to form the Northern Central Railway Company, and then was made a member of the board of directors. In 1857 he was elected governor of Pennsylvania. He was essentially a Northern moderate which was revealed by his strong opposition to the Kansas policy of Buchanan, although he had labored for the latter's nomination at the National Democratic Convention in 1856, and by his opposition to secession in 1861.

As governor, William Fisher Packer continued his activities in behalf of improved transportation facilities for the state. He urged state aid to carry on the construction of the Sunbury & Erie Railroad and shortly after he left office the measure was passed. At the close of his term as governor in 1861 he retired from political life and returned to his home at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where he later died on September 27, 1870.

Achievements

• William Fisher Packer was a distinguished politician and editor. He became known for his service as the Governor of Pennsylvania. He was also the co-founder the Keystone Gazette, the Democratic administration newspaper.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Report of the Trial and Conviction of John Earls, for the Murder of His Wife, Catherine Earls, Late of Muncy Creek Township, Lycoming County, ... for Lycoming County, February Term, 1836; I

    (Excerpt from Report of the Trial and Conviction of John E...)

Politics

William Fisher Packer was a member of Democratic party.

Views

Quotations: "I would not permit the covetous and hard-hearted creditor to drive his unfortunate debtor, naked and penniless, out upon the cold charities of an inhospitable world. The laws that authorize such a procedure should be blotted from the pages of the statute books of every State in this Union. They are repugnant to the spirit of the age, and revolting to humanity. Like -the laws sanctioning imprisonment for debt, they should be repudiated by every philanthropic legislator; they should exist but in the history of the past - an obsolete idea. It has been truly said, Mr. Speaker, that he who sells out the last little property of a wife and family of small children of a rash, heedless, or perhaps intemperate husband and father, and afterwards, with a cheerful countenance, goes home to dine, goes home to feast on human hearts. Sir, money thus obtained has a damning curse upon it. "

"If slavery should be instituted by, or under a slave-holding Executive, and Kansas should claim admission as a slave State, it does not require a prophet to foretell the consequences north of Mason and Dixon's line. The Democratic party, which has stood by the Constitution and the rights of the South with such unflinching fidelity, would be stricken down in the few remaining States where it is yet in the ascendancy; the balance of power would be lost; and Black Republicans would rule this nation, or civil war and disunion would inevitably follow. "

"Every attempt upon the part of individuals, or of organized societies, to lead the people away from their government, to induce them to violate any of the provisions of the constitution, or to incite insurrections in any of the States of this Union, ought to be prohibited by law as crimes of a treasonable nature. It is of the first importance to the perpetuity of this great Union that the hearts of the people and the action of their constituted authorities should be in unison in giving a faithful support to the constitution of the United States. The people of Pennsylvania are devoted to the Union. They will follow its stars and stripes through every peril. But, before assuming the high responsibilities now dimly foreshadowed, it is their solemn duty to remove even- just cause of complaint against themselves, so that they may stand before High Heaven and the civilized world without fear and without reproach, ready to devote their lives and their fortunes to the support of the best form of government that has ever been de:ised by the wisdom of man. "

Connections

On December 24, 1829 William Fisher Packer married Mary W. Vanderbelt. They had nine children.

Father:

James Packer

Mother:

Charity (Bye) Packer

Spouse:

Mary Wycoff Vanderbelt Packer

Daughter :

Annie Packer Woodward

Daughter :

Sarah Bye Packer Allis

Brother:

John P Packer

Daughter:

Elizabeth R Packer

Daughter:

Mary Packer Clarke

Son :

Boyd Cummings Packer

Son :

James Packer

Son :

Howard Packer

Son :

Albert Packer

Son :

William Vanderbelt Packer

References

• An Illustrated History Of The Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania, Civil, Political, And Military: From Its Earliest Settlement To The Present Time, ... Their Towns, And Industrial Resources, Volume