John W. Rife

John Winebrenner Rife was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.

Formative years

John W. Rife was born in Middletown, Pennsylvania on August 14, 1846. He attended the common schools, and subsequently learned the trade of tanner.

Rife enlisted July 15, 1864, as a private in Company D, One Hundred and Ninety-fourth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and served until honorably discharged on November 6, 1864.

Rife served as a member of the city council of Middletown in 1871, and as burgess of Middletown in 1877 and 1878. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives in 1885 and 1886. He served as president of the Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad Co.
Rife was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-first and Fifty-second Congresses. He was not a candidate for renomination.

Rife died in Middletown on April 17, 1908, and was interred at the Middletown Cemetery.