John B. Weller
John B. Weller | |
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United States Senator from California | |
In office January 30, 1852 – March 3, 1857 | |
Preceded by | John C. Frémont |
Succeeded by | David C. Broderick |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 2nd district | |
In office March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1845 | |
Preceded by | Taylor Webster |
Succeeded by | Francis A. Cunningham |
Personal details | |
Born | Lecompton Democrat | February 22, 1812
Spouse | G. W. Staunton |
Alma mater | Miami University |
Profession | Ambassador, lawyer, politician |
Signature | |
John B. Weller (February 22, 1812 – August 17, 1875) was the
.Life and career
Weller was born in Hamilton County, Ohio, and attended the public schools and Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He then studied law, was admitted to the bar and practiced in Butler County, Ohio. He was prosecuting attorney of Butler County from 1833 until 1836.
He 1838 he was elected as a
Congresses, serving from 1839 until 1845.He served in the 1st Regiment of Ohio Volunteers as a
In 1849 and 1850, he was a member of the commission to establish the boundary line between California and Mexico. He was replaced by President Zachary Taylor, a Whig, who first named John C. Frémont. After Frémont resigned without beginning his duties, Taylor appointed John Russell Bartlett.
Weller then settled in California and practiced law. When Frémont's term as a U.S. Senator expired on March 3, 1851, the state legislature failed to elect a replacement for the term that started on March 4, so the position remained vacant. In January 1852, the legislature elected Weller, and he served from January 30, 1852, to March 3, 1857. During the
After running unsuccessfully for reelection to the Senate, in 1857 he was elected Governor of California and he served from 1858 to 1860. As Governor, he intended to make California an independent republic if the North and South divided over slavery, and he personally led an assault on
After leaving the governorship, he was appointed Ambassador to Mexico near the end of 1860 by the lame-duck
Death and burial
He died in New Orleans in 1875. Original interment was at Laurel Hill Cemetery in San Francisco. His remains were moved to Girod Street Cemetery in New Orleans. That burying ground was destroyed in 1959 and unclaimed remains were commingled with 15,000 others and deposited beneath Hope Mausoleum, St. John's Cemetery, New Orleans.
Family
Weller's first wife was Ann E. Ryan, who died in 1836.
Weller's father-in-law, John A. Bryan, was a U.S. diplomat. His brother-in-law, Charles Henry Bryan, was a California State Senator.
References
- ^ Taylor, William A (1900). Ohio in Congress from 1803 to 1901, with notes and sketches of senators and representatives. the XX Century Publishing Company. pp. 178–179.
- ^ John B. Weller biography at the California State Library
- S2CID 145079658. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
- JSTOR 23887896. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978.
- ^ a b c d The Hieronimus Weller Family in America, pp. 133, 239.
Sources
- Sobel, Robert; Raimo, John (1978). Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978. Vol. 1. Westport, CT: Meckler Books. ISBN 9780930466008.
- Weller, Ralph H. (1999). The Hieronimus Weller Family in America. Newburgh, NY: R. H. Weller.
External links
- United States Congress. "John B. Weller (id: W000274)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Dates of service as Mexican Ambassador
- Media related to John B. Weller at Wikimedia Commons
- Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900. .