John Gebhard

{{Infobox officeholder | name = John Gebhard | image = | alt = | caption = | state = New York | district = 13th | term_start = December 3, 1821 | term_end = March 3, 1823 | predecessor = Harmanus Peek | successor = Isaac Williams, Jr. | birth_date = {{birth date|1782|2|22}} | birth_place = Claverack, New York, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1854|1|3|1782|2|22}} | death_place = Schoharie, New York, U.S. | resting_place = St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery, Schoharie, New York, U.S. | party = Federalist }}

'''John Gebhard''' (February 22, 1782 – January 3, 1854) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

==Life== Gebhard attended the public schools of Columbia County. He studied law with his brother Jacob, was admitted to the bar and practiced in Schoharie County.<ref>{{cite book |last=Roscoe |first=William E. |date=1882 |title=History of Schoharie County, New York, 1713-1882 |volume=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=91SA3En-G_4C&pg=PA220 |location=Syracuse, New York |publisher=Truair, Smith & Bruce |page=220|isbn=9780788437366 }}</ref> He was the county Surrogate from 1811 to 1813, and from 1815 to 1823.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hough |first=Franklin B. |date=1858 |title=The New York Civil List |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E3sFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA918 |location=Albany, New York |publisher=Weed, Parsons & Co. |page=918}}</ref>

In addition to practicing law, Gebhard farmed<ref>{{cite book |last=Roscoe |first=William E. |date=1882 |title=History of Schoharie County, New York, 1713-1882 |volume=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lm7gw_fJWlEC&pg=PA379 |location=Syracuse, New York |publisher=Truhair, Smith & Bruce |page=379|isbn=9780788437373 }}</ref> and was involved in several business ventures, including construction over the Schoharie Creek of the Middleburgh Bridge, which travelers paid tolls to use.<ref>{{cite book |last=New York State Legislature |date=1815 |title=Laws of the State of New-York, Passed at the Thirty-Sixth, Thirty-Seventh, and Thirty Eighth Sessions of the Legislature|volume= III |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_tBIAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA72 |location=Websters and Skinners |publisher=Albany, New York |pages=72–75}}</ref>

Gebhard was elected as a Federalist to the 17th United States Congress, holding office from December 3, 1821, to March 3, 1823. Afterwards he resumed the practice of law.

Gebhard was also an amateur geologist and mineralogist, and with his son John Gebhard, Jr. (1802-1887) was one of the first explorers of the limestone caves in and around Schoharie County, including Howe Caverns. Gebhard amassed a large personal collection of minerals found in the caves, and provided samples to other academics and researchers. John Gebhard, Jr. was later employed by the New York State Museum of Natural History, to which his family later sold the senior Gebhard's collection.

He was buried at St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery in Schoharie.<ref>[https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/13703 United States House of Representatives]</ref> Gebhard's daughter Charlotte was the wife of Charles Goodyear, who also served in Congress.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kirkman |first=Grace Goodyear |date=1899 |title=Genealogy of the Goodyear Family |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z27hAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA101 |location=San Francisco, California |publisher=Cubery & Company |page=101}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{CongBio|G000114}}

{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=New York | district=13 | before=Harmanus Peek | after=Isaac Williams, Jr. | years=1821–1823}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gebhard, John}} Category:1782 births Category:1854 deaths Category:New York (state) lawyers Category:People from Claverack, New York Category:People from Schoharie, New York Category:Federalist Party United States representatives from New York (state) Category:19th-century New York state court judges Category:19th-century American lawyers Category:19th-century New York (state) politicians Category:19th-century United States representatives