Biography

09/14/1821 - 12/25/1891

GETZ, James Lawrence, a Representative from Berks County; born, September 14, 1821 in Reading, Berks County, Pa.; co-owner, Reading Gazette (1840-1848); lawyer (1846); owner, Reading Gazette, and Jefferson Democrat (1848-1849); publisher (1850-1878) and editor (1851-1861), Reading Gazette and Democrat; elected as a Democrat to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1855 and 1856; elected, Speaker (1857); elected, United States Congress (1867-1873); editor, Spirit of Berks (1876-1881); elected, city controller, Reading (1887-1891); died, December 25, 1891 in Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania; interred, Charles Evans Cemetery, Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania.