Representative Michael Carver Trout

Michael Carver Trout (September 30, 1810 – June 25, 1873) was an American politician who served one term as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from 1853 to 1855. He was born in Hickory Township, Pennsylvania, where he spent much of his life and to which he remained closely connected throughout his public career and later business pursuits.

Trout received a very limited formal education in his youth, a common circumstance in rural western Pennsylvania in the early nineteenth century. Despite this, he entered the workforce at an early age and was employed as a hatter for three years. He subsequently learned the trades of carpentry and contracting, occupations that provided him with practical experience in building and local development and helped establish his standing within the community.

Trout’s early involvement in public affairs began at the local level. He served as president of the Hickory Township School Board for twenty years, reflecting a long-standing commitment to local education despite his own limited schooling. In 1841 he was elected burgess of Sharon, Pennsylvania, a position roughly equivalent to mayor, in which he oversaw municipal matters in the growing town. He advanced to county office the following year, serving as recorder of Mercer County, Pennsylvania, from 1842 to 1845, where he was responsible for maintaining public records and legal documents. From 1846 to 1851 he held the office of prothonotary of Mercer County, acting as chief clerk of the county courts and managing judicial records and filings.

Building on this record of local and county service, Trout was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-third Congress, representing Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1853, to March 3, 1855. As a member of the Democratic Party representing Pennsylvania, he contributed to the legislative process during his single term in office. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, marked by intensifying national debates over slavery, sectionalism, and westward expansion. During this time he participated in the democratic process at the federal level and represented the interests of his constituents in western Pennsylvania. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Thirty-fourth Congress and returned to private life at the close of his term.

After leaving Congress, Trout turned his attention to business and industrial pursuits that were becoming increasingly important in Pennsylvania’s economy. He engaged in iron manufacturing, taking part in an industry that was central to the region’s early industrialization. He also became involved in banking, reflecting his growing role in local finance and commercial development, and participated in coal mining, another key sector in the state’s expanding industrial base. These activities linked him to the broader economic transformation of western Pennsylvania in the mid-nineteenth century.

Michael Carver Trout died in Hickory Township, Pennsylvania, on June 25, 1873. He was interred in Morefield Cemetery in Hickory Township, near Sharon, Pennsylvania. His life encompassed work as an artisan and contractor, long service in local and county offices, a term in the U.S. House of Representatives, and subsequent involvement in the iron, banking, and coal industries, reflecting the intertwined political and economic development of his region during his lifetime.