J. Ford Laning

Who was J. Ford Laning?

Jay Ford Laning was a U.S. Representative from Ohio.

Born in New London, Ohio, Laning attended the public schools, the Savannah Academy, and Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio. He studied law. He was admitted to the bar in May 1875 and commenced practice in New London. Laning was the local Justice of the Peace from 1875 to 1881, and served as member of the village council in 1876.

He moved to Norwalk, Ohio, in January 1882, where he practiced law until 1885 and then engaged in the publishing business. He served as member of the city council 1887-1889, and was a member of the Ohio Senate from 1893 to 1897. He served as delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1904 and 1908.

Laning was elected as a Republican to the Sixtieth Congress. He was renominated in 1908, but withdrew and resumed the publishing business in Norwalk. He then devoted his time to the writing, editing, and publishing lawbooks and school textbooks.

J. Ford Laning died in Norwalk on September 1, 1941, and was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery.