Eben Newton (October 16, 1795 – November 6, 1885) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

from 1851 to 1853.

Early life and career

Born in

Goshen, Connecticut Goshen is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,150 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region. Geography Goshen is in central Litchfield County and is bordered to the ea ...

, Newton attended the common schools. He moved to

Portage County, Ohio Portage County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 161,791. Located in Northeast Ohio, Portage County is part of the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Cleveland–A ...

, in 1814 and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He studied law with Darius Lyman and John Sloane. Newton was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1823 and commenced practice in

Canfield, Ohio Canfield is a city in central Mahoning County, Ohio, United States. The population was 7,699 as of the 2020 census. It is a suburb surrounded by Canfield Township located at the intersection of U.S. Routes 62 and 224. It is part of the Youn ...

. He formed a partnership with Elisha Whittlesey that lasted for twenty years. He served as member of the

Ohio Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of t ...

from 1842 to 1851. He was the presiding judge of the court of common pleas from 1844 to 1851.

Congress

Newton was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-second Congress (March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1852 to the Thirty-third Congress.

Later career

He served as president of the Ashtabula & New Lisbon Railroad 1856–1859, and again served in the state senate from 1862 to 1864 during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. He resumed the practice of law and also engaged in agricultural pursuits. He raised beef cattle on farms near Canfield. Newton married Mary Church of Canfield, May 1826. They had one son and three daughters. He was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Death

He made a trip to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, returning with a cold, which led to his death within a month. He died in

, on November 6, 1885, and was interred in Canfield Village Cemetery.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, Eben 1795 births 1885 deaths 19th-century American railroad executives People from Goshen, Connecticut People from Canfield, Ohio Ohio lawyers Ohio state senators People from Portage County, Ohio Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly