John B. WELLER, Congress, OH (1812-1875)

WELLER, John B., a Representative from Ohio and a Senator from California; born in Hamilton County, Ohio, February 22, 1812; attended the public schools and Miami University, Oxford, Ohio; studied law; admitted to the bar and practiced in Butler County, Ohio; prosecuting attorney of Butler County 1833-1836; elected as a Democrat from Ohio to the Twenty-sixth, Twenty-seventh, and Twenty-eighth Congresses (March 4, 1839-March 3, 1845); was not a candidate for renomination in 1844; served in the Mexican War 1846-1847; unsuccessful Democratic candidate for governor of Ohio in 1848; member of the commission to establish the boundary line between California and Mexico in 1849 and 1850; moved to California and engaged in the practice of law; elected as a Democrat from California to the United States Senate for the term commencing March 4, 1851, and served from January 30, 1852, to March 3, 1857; unsuccessful candidate for reelection; chairman, Committee on Military Affairs (Thirty-fourth Congress); Governor of California 1858-1860; appointed Minister to Mexico in 1860 and was recalled in 1861; moved to New Orleans, La., in 1867 and continued the practice of law; died in New Orleans, La., August 17, 1875; interment in Girod Street Cemetery; cemetery destroyed in 1959 and unclaimed remains commingled with 15,000 others and deposited beneath Hope Mausoleum, St. John’s Cemetery, New Orleans, La.

Bibliography

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present