John Allison

Apparently there has been a whole bunch of Allisons representing Pennsylvania in Congress. John Allison was one of them, and so was his father, James Jr.  Although he was a lawyer, he spent much of his early life making hats and operating a tannery.

His political life started in the Pennsyvania State House of Representatives.  He first went to the US Congress as a member of the Whig party.  He later defected to the Republican party, where he nominated some upstart named Abraham Lincoln as a candidate for Vice President.