Before rising through the ranks of the Pennsylvania legislature, the state's fourteenth governor, William F. Packer was a newspaper man, who apprenticed with publishers in the Susquehanna Valley.

Packer was born April 2, 1807, in Howard, Centre County, Pa., the son of James and Charity Packer. His ancestors are said to have been English Quakers, who settled in New Jersey in 1680. When William was seven, his father died, and at thirteen was apprenticed to a relative to learn the printing trade, the publication being the "Public Inquirer" at Sunbury. He completed his apprenticeship in the office of the “Patriot" at Bellefonte, and having done so, he worked two years as a journeyman in the office of Simon Cameron, public printer of the "Intelligencer" at Harrisburg.

Later he went to Williamsport and took up the study of law under Joseph B. Anthony, but was never admitted to the bar. In 1827 he returned to his old work as a journalist, associating himself with the "'Lycoming Gazette," afterward consolidated with the Bulletin. From 1829 to 1836 Mr. Packer was the sole manager of the paper. That same year, he married Mary Wykoff Vanderbilt, daughter of Peter Vanderbilt, one of the earliest settlers of the county, and grandfather of Michael Ross, founder of Williamsport.

In 1831 Mr. Packer wrote an "Address to the People of Philadelphia," urging the construction of the West Branch canal as a part of a system of internal improvements of the state then under discussion. He was later made superintendent of that division of the canal until it was completed in 1835.

After the completion of the canal, Packer assisted in establishing the "Keystone," which became the political voice of the Democratic party in the state, and he retained his connection with it until 1841.

The Governor of Pennsylvania appointed Packer to the position of canal commissioner and later made him auditor general of the state, a position which he held from 1842 to 1845. A year later he became a candidate for the state legislature, and it was a position that election results indicated he had lost in the House of Representatives by just 12 votes to Benjamin F. Pauling, who went on to serve for the entire subsequent session. But according to his biography in the Senate Library, “In a most unusual circumstance, a later examination of the votes in Porter Township, Clinton County, saw that 49 votes for Packer had been recorded when the tallies showed he had 69 votes. This margin of just 20 votes meant that Packer had been elected by 8 votes over his challenger instead of losing by 12 as was initially believed.”

Packer was, however, elected the following year, and in his first year as a representative was chosen as Speaker of the House. He is said to have been so well-versed in parliamentary rules and constitutional law government, that his ability as a presiding officer was unquestionable and his decisions never appealed.

 In 1849 Packer defeated Andrew G. Curtin for state senator and while a member of the Senate, secured against strong opposition, the incorporation of the Susquehanna Railroad Company, extending from Sunbury to Harrisburg, connecting with a line to Baltimore.

The bill also granted the privilege of constructing railroads from Sunbury to Williamsport and from Sunbury to Wilkes-Barre.  Packer's interest in railroads was further advanced in 1852 when he became president of the Susquehanna Railroad Company, which a few years later was consolidated with other lines leading to Baltimore forming the Northern Central.

Governor Packer was a proponent of public schools and supported the new public school system with funds for teacher training. Packer also used his veto power to stop attacks on the new public education system by forces in the legislature.

In a story related to Montour County, Packer refused to pardon Mary Twiggs who had been convicted, along with William John Clark, of poisoning their spouses in 1857.  This is despite tremendous lobbying from Judge Alex Jordan, attorneys involved in the case, and numerous community petitions. One month after William Clark’s execution, Mary Twiggs was hung on October 22^nd, 1858, in the courtyard of the Montour County Prison.

Though once a friend of James Buchanan, Governor Packer opposed him on the issue of the expansion of slavery into western territories, a sign of growing splits within the Democratic Party.

As his term came to an end, southern states had begun seceding from the union. Packer recommended that the nation's differences be addressed in a national convention. He opposed secession and, in his final address to the General Assembly, he stated, "It is therefore clear, that there is no Constitutional right of secession. Secession is only another form of nullification. Either, when attempted to be carried out by force, is rebellion, and should be treated as such, by those whose sworn duty it is to maintain the supremacy of the Constitution and laws of the United States."^[

After leaving the office, Packer returned to Williamsport and resumed work in the newspaper business. He died on September 27^th, 1870. He, along with his wife and five children, is buried in Washington Cemetery, in Williamsport, Lycoming County.