Seabury Ford

Template:Short description Template:Infobox officeholder Template:Commons category Seabury Ford (October 15, 1801 – May 8, 1855) was a Whig politician from Ohio. He served as the 20th governor of Ohio and was the last Whig to serve as governor.

Early life

Ford was born in Cheshire, Connecticut and moved to Burton, Ohio with his parents in 1804. He studied at Burton Academy, and then graduated from Yale University.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> While at Yale, he was elected by his classmates as class "bully", a term of honor for the physically strongest man in the class.<ref name=upton>Template:Cite book</ref>

Career

Ford graduated from Yale in 1825, returned to Ohio, and read law under the direction of his uncle, Judge Peter Hitchcock. He commenced the practice of law in 1827.<ref name=champ /><ref name=ryan /> While practicing law, Ford became involved in the state militia and was promoted to the rank of major general.<ref name=gov>Template:Cite web</ref> Ford married Harriet E. Cook of Burton in 1828.<ref name=champ>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1835, Ford was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives from Geauga County. He held this position three times, and served as speaker for one term.<ref name=gov /> From 1841 to 1848, he served in the Ohio State Senate.<ref name=ryan>Template:Cite book</ref>

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 and the Mexican–American War, as well as by a cholera 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.<ref name=champ/> He died at his home in Burton in 1855 when he was 53 years old.<ref name=champ/><ref name=ryan/> Ford is interred at Welton Cemetery in Burton, Ohio.<ref name=gov/>

External links

• Template:Find a Grave
• Template:Cite Appletons'
• National Governors Association:Ohio Governor Seabury Ford