Representative Edward Burd Hubley

Edward Burd Hubley (1792 – February 23, 1856) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania and a prominent lawyer and public official in the early nineteenth century. He was born in 1792 in Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania, a community that would remain central to his professional and personal life. Little is recorded about his family background or early youth, but his subsequent legal and political career indicates that he received a solid education suitable for entry into the legal profession and public service in the early republic.

Hubley pursued the study of law in Pennsylvania and was admitted to the bar in 1820. He began his legal practice in his native Reading, where he established himself as an attorney during a period of rapid economic and infrastructural development in the state. Seeking broader professional opportunities and positioning himself within a growing region, he later moved to Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania, then the county seat of Schuylkill County. This relocation placed him in an area increasingly important for its anthracite coal resources and related commercial activity, likely enhancing both his legal practice and his visibility in public affairs.

As a member of the Democratic Party representing Pennsylvania, Edward Burd Hubley contributed to the legislative process during two terms in office. He was first elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-fourth Congress and then reelected as a Democrat to the Twenty-fifth Congress, reflecting the evolving partisan alignments of the era and his association with the broader Jacksonian Democratic movement. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, marked by debates over federal power, economic policy, and westward expansion. During these years, he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his constituents from Pennsylvania, aligning with the policies and priorities of the Jacksonian and Democratic coalitions.

After leaving Congress, Hubley continued to hold important positions in state and federal service. He served as canal commissioner of Pennsylvania from 1839 to 1842, a role of considerable significance at a time when canals were central to the state’s transportation infrastructure and economic development. In this capacity, he would have been involved in the oversight, maintenance, and expansion of canal systems that linked Pennsylvania’s interior to major markets. On November 8, 1842, he was appointed as a commissioner to adjust and settle certain claims under the treaty with the Cherokee Indians of 1835, a federal assignment connected to the complex and often contentious process of implementing treaty obligations and resolving financial and property claims arising from Cherokee removal and related policies.

Following the completion of his work as a federal commissioner, Hubley resumed the practice of law in Reading, returning to the community where his legal career had begun. He later moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s largest city and principal legal and commercial center, where he continued his professional pursuits. Edward Burd Hubley died in Philadelphia on February 23, 1856. He was interred in Charles Evans Cemetery in Reading, Pennsylvania, underscoring his enduring connection to his birthplace and the region in which he first established himself as a lawyer and public servant.