Nelson H. Van Vorhes

Nelson Holmes Van Vorhes (January 23, 1822 – December 4, 1882) was an American newspaperman and politician who served two terms as a U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1875 to 1879.

Nelson Holmes Van Vorhes
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Ohio's 15th district
In office
March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1879
Preceded byWilliam P. Sprague
Succeeded byGeorge W. Geddes
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives
from the Athens County district
In office
December 2, 1850 – January 1, 1854
Serving with H. S. Bundy
Preceded byAnselm T. Holcomb, Joseph K. Will
Succeeded bySamuel B. Pruden
In office
January 7, 1856 – January 1, 1860
Preceded bySamuel B. Pruden
Succeeded byA. B. Monahan
In office
January 3, 1870 – January 4, 1874
Preceded byWilliam P. Johnson
Succeeded byCharles H. Grosvenor
Speaker of the Ohio House
In office
January 1, 1856 – January 3, 1858
Preceded byFrancis C. LeBlond
Succeeded byWilliam Burnham Woods
In office
January 1, 1872 – January 4, 1874
Preceded byA. J. Cunningham
Succeeded byGeorge L. Converse
Personal details
Born(1822-01-23)January 23, 1822
Washington County, Pennsylvania
DiedDecember 4, 1882(1882-12-04) (aged 60)
Athens, Ohio
Political partyRepublican
Other political
affiliations		Whig

Biography

Born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, Van Vorhes moved to Athens County, Ohio, in 1832 and engaged in agricultural pursuits. Apprenticed to a printer for six years. He was editor and proprietor of The Athens Messenger 1844-1861. He served as member of the State House of Representatives 1850-1872 and served four years as speaker.

Van Vorhes lost the election for Ohio Secretary of State as a Whig in 1853. Van Vorhes was elected probate judge in 1854, but resigned. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1858 to the Thirty-sixth Congress. He served as delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1860. He entered the Union Army as a private in 1861 and was mustered out as colonel of the 92nd Ohio Infantry in the Summer of 1863, when his health failed. His father was: Abraham Van Vorhes who also served in the Ohio General Assembly and Minnesota Territorial Legislature and his brother was: Andrew J. Van Vorhes who served in the Minnesota House of Representatives.[1]

Van Vorhes was elected as a Republican to the Forty-fourth and Forty-fifth Congresses (March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1879). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1878 to the Forty-sixth Congress. He died in Athens, Ohio, December 4, 1882, and was interred in West Union Street Cemetery.

References
  1. Walker, Charles M (1869). History of Athens County, Ohio And Incidentally of the Ohio Land Company and the First Settlement of the State at Marietta etc. Robert Clarke & Co. pp. 303–305.

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

Archives at
LocationOhio University Libraries, Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections
IdentifiersMSS010
AccessThis collection is open.
SourceNelson Holmes Van Vorhes papers 1835-1943
How to use archival material
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