John Chaney (January 12, 1790 – April 10, 1881) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

for three terms from 1833 to 1839.

Biography

Born in

Washington County, Maryland Washington County is located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 154,705. Its county seat is Hagerstown. Washington County was the first county in the United States to be named for the ...

, the son of Susanna and Nathan Cheney, Chaney moved with his parents to Pennsylvania. He received a limited schooling. He moved to Ohio in 1810 and settled in

Bloom Township, Fairfield County, Ohio Bloom Township is one of the thirteen townships of Fairfield County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 8,466, up from 6,374 at the 2000 census. 7,028 people lived in the unincorporated portions of the township in 2010. ...

. He engaged in agricultural pursuits. Chaney married Mary Ann LaFere of Bloom Township in 1816. He was in the

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in 1821, 1824, and 1827. Trustee of Bloom Township for twenty-three years. Major, colonel, and paymaster in the Ohio State Militia. He served as member of the State house of representatives 1828-1830. Chaney was elected associate judge of Fairfield County in 1831. Ohio

Presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia app ...

in 1832 for

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

. Chaney was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Congresses and as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Twenty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1839). He returned to Ohio and settled in Canal Winchester, Franklin County. He was again a member of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

in 1842 and served as speaker. He served as member of the village council. He served in the

Ohio State Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...

in 1844 and 1845. He was again a member of the state house of representatives in 1855. He served as a delegate to the Ohio constitutional convention in 1851.

Death

He died at

Canal Winchester, Ohio Canal Winchester is a city in Fairfield and Franklin counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The city is one of the suburbs that make up the Columbus metropolitan area. The population was 9,107 at the 2020 census. History Canal Winchester was foun ...

, April 10, 1881. He was interred in Union Grove Cemetery. John Chaney was the great-grandfather of the famous actor

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...

, and the great-great-grandfather of Lon Chaney's son,

Lon Chaney Jr. Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dra ...

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chaney, John 1790 births 1881 deaths People from Washington County, Maryland People from Fairfield County, Ohio People from Franklin County, Ohio Ohio Constitutional Convention (1850) Democratic Party Ohio state senators Speakers of the Ohio House of Representatives 1832 United States presidential electors Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio American militia officers Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio 19th-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives People from Canal Winchester, Ohio