sentences:  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.