Seabury Ford (October 15, 1801 – May 8, 1855) was a Whig politician 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 ...

. He served as the 20th

governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

and was the last Whig to serve as governor.

Early life

Ford was born in

Cheshire, Connecticut Cheshire ( ), is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Cheshire was 28,733. The town is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. The center of population of Connecticut i ...

and moved to

Burton, Ohio Burton is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Geauga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,407 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Burton is the location of Century Vil ...

with his parents in 1804. He studied at Burton Academy, and then graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. While at Yale, he was elected by his classmates as class "bully", a term of honor for the physically strongest man in the class.

Career

Ford graduated from Yale in 1825, returned to Ohio, and

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

under the direction of his uncle, Judge Peter Hitchcock. He commenced the practice of law in 1827. While practicing law, Ford became involved in the state militia and was promoted to the rank of major general. Ford married Harriet E. Cook of Burton in 1828. In 1835, Ford was elected to the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

from Geauga County. He held this position three times, and served as speaker for one term. From 1841 to 1848, he served in the

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

. After serving in the General Assembly, Ford was elected to the governorship in late 1848, by a margin of 311 votes out of nearly 300,000 cast. Ford served only a single term before returning home. His term was marred by fighting in a highly partisan Assembly that was divided over issues related to

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

and the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

, as well as by a

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic that swept through Columbus.

Death

On the first Sunday after his retirement, Ford suffered a stroke and was stricken by paralysis, from which he never recovered. He died at his home in Burton in 1855 when he was 53 years old. Ford is interred at Welton Cemetery in Burton, Ohio.

References

External links

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National Governors Association:Ohio Governor Seabury Ford
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Seabury 1801 births 1855 deaths Governors of Ohio Speakers of the Ohio House of Representatives Presidents of the Ohio Senate Ohio Whigs People from Geauga County, Ohio Yale University alumni Ohio lawyers Whig Party state governors of the United States American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law Members of the Ohio House of Representatives 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly