Hon. James S. Biery
Portrait and Biographical Record ~ Pages
Kindly submitted by: Carrie
Hon. James
S. Biery, who gained distinction through his public
services as a Member of Congress, is a prominent attorney-at-law
of Allentown, and holds an enviable position in the legal
circles of Lehigh County. He has the honor of being a native of
the state which is still his home. He was born on the Alleghany
River, in Venango County, March 2, 1839, and is a son of Henry
and Esther (Slotrey) Biery, both of whom were natives of Lehigh
County. The father was a farmer by occupation, and in 1837
removed with his family to Venango County, where he and his wife
spent their remaining days.
Upon the old homestead farm our
subject was reared, and in the district schools of the
neighborhood he began his education. He afterward attended a
select school, and later pursued his studies in Emlenton
Academy. On leaving that institution he began teaching, at the
age of nineteen, and successfully followed that profession for
several years. Three years of that time he was a teacher in
Venango County, and for eight years followed teaching in Lehigh
County. Subsequently he engaged in the study of theology for
two years, but, changing his mind about entering the ministry,
he instead entered the law office of Judge Edwin Albright, of
Allentown, and after thorough preparation was admitted to the
Bar, in September, 1868, in this city. Here he at once began
practice, and his time and attention have since been devoted to
his chosen profession. He was admitted to practice in the
United States Supreme Court in 1875, in Washington, D.C. He has
ever been a close student of his profession, and his abilities,
both natural and acquired, have placed him among the leading
practitioners at the Lehigh County Bar and in eastern
Pennsylvania.
In 1872 Mr. Biery was elected
to Congress, representing the Sixth Congressional District,
which comprised the counties of Lehigh and Montgomery. He is a
Republican in politics, and on that ticket was elected. On the
expiration of his term of office he returned to Allentown and
resumed his law practice, which he has diligently prosecuted up
to the present time. When in Congress he took an active part in
the discussion favoring the resumption of specie payment. He
has been a close student of the topics and issues of the day,
and has made himself well informed concerning everything
pertaining thereto. He has written many learned and able
articles on different subjects, for various periodicals and
papers. He was the author of a series of articles on the
revision of the tariff, published in 1879 and 1880 in the
Allentown Chronicle and News, and copied in the Reading
Times. They were also copied and commented upon by many
of the leading journals throughout the country. His latest
literary effort is a satire on “King Grover,” which has had a
wide circulation, and which received much favorable commendation
from the metropolitan journals throughout the land.
On the 1st of March,
1864, Mr. Biery was united in marriage with Miss Annie Mertz, of
Allentown, daughter of Elias Mertz. They have one son, Arthur
L., a practicing attorney of this place. The family is widely
known in the community in which they have so long resided, and
its members are prominent in social circles. Mr. Biery takes an
active part in political affairs by advocating the principles of
the Republican party. He is also a stanch supporter of those
interests and enterprises which are calculated to benefit and
improve the city and advance the general welfare. The community
which has so long been his home finds in him one of its best
citizens. |
