Hiester Clymer (1827 – June 12, 1884) was an American political leader from the state of Pennsylvania. Clymer was a member of the Hiester family political dynasty. He was the nephew of William Muhlenberg Hiester and the cousin of Isaac Ellmaker Hiester.
Clymer was born in Morgantown, Berks County, Pennsylvania on November 3, 1827. He attended Princeton University, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1849. Clymer practiced law in Berks County and Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.
He was a delegate to the National Convention of the Democratic Party in 1860 and 1868. He served in the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1861 to 1868.[1] He ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Pennsylvania in 1866 on a white supremacist policy, losing to John W. Geary. In the controversial campaign, Clymer's camp produced some of the most virulently graphic racist posters and pamphlets of the decade.[2]
He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1872 and served from March 4, 1873 to March 3, 1881. While in Congress, he served on the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of State, and as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of War.
After he left Congress, he served as vice president of the Union Trust Company in Philadelphia and as president of the Clymer Iron Company.
He died in Reading, Pennsylvania, on June 12, 1884.
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James L. Getz |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district 1873-1881 |
Succeeded by Daniel Ermentrout |