Eben Newton

Who was Eben Newton?

Eben Newton was a U.S. Representative from Ohio.

Born in Goshen, Connecticut, Newton attended the common schools. He moved to Portage County, Ohio, in 1814 and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He studied law with Darius Lyman and John Sloane. Newton was admitted to the bar in 1823 and commenced practice in Canfield, Ohio. He formed a partnership with Elisha Whittlesey that lasted for twenty years. He served as member of the Ohio Senate from 1842 to 1851. He was the presiding judge of the court of common pleas from 1844 to 1851.

Newton was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-second Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1852 to the Thirty-third Congress.

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. 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.

He made a trip to California, returning with a cold, which lead to his death within a month. He died in Canfield, Ohio, on November 6, 1885, and was interred in Canfield Village Cemetery.