Joseph Warren Fordney (November 5, 1853 – January 8, 1932) was an American Republican politician from Saginaw,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. He represented Saginaw County and the surrounding area of

Central Michigan Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula of the United States, U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said t ...

in the U.S. House of Representatives for twenty-four years.

Biography

Fordney was born on a farm near Hartford City, Indiana, where he attended the common schools. He moved to

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township, ...

, in June 1869 and engaged in the lumber industry. Afterward became the owner of extensive lumber enterprises and the vice president of the Saginaw Board of Trade. He was also a member of the Saginaw Board of Aldermen from 1896 to 1900. In November 1898, Fordney defeated incumbent Democrat Ferdinand Brucker to be elected as a Republican from Michigan's 8th congressional district to the

56th United States Congress The 56th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 189 ...

. He was subsequently re-elected to the eleven succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1899 to March 3, 1923. The November 1903 Congressional Directory notes that Fordney "is also interested in an artificial-ice plant at Hartford City, Ind." Fordney served as the chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Navy in the 59th Congress; and of the Committee on Ways and Means in the 66th and 67th Congresses. He co-sponsored the 1922 Fordney–McCumber Tariff. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1922. He was also a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

s in 1908, 1924, and

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

. After leaving Congress, Fordney returned to the lumber business in Saginaw and was also interested in banking and agricultural pursuits. He died in Saginaw and is interred there in St. Andrew’s Cemetery.

Bibliography

*Russell, John A. ''Joseph Warren Fordney: An American Legislator''. Boston: The Stratford Co., 1928.

References

Sources

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fordney, Joseph Warren 1853 births 1932 deaths Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan American businesspeople in timber Politicians from Saginaw, Michigan 19th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesspeople 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives