Jonathan Furman Leaming (September 7, 1822 – April 25, 1907) was an American physician and politician. Leaming was born on September 7, 1822, in

Cape May County, New Jersey Cape May County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Much of the county is located on Cape May bound by Delaware Bay to its west and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and east. Adjacent to the Atlantic coastline are fiv ...

, and was of English descent. His great-grandfather was the politician Aaron Leaming Jr. Leaming was the son of William Leaming and Sara Somers and had two sisters, Catherine and Julia. Leaming attended Madison University (now

Colgate University Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theologi ...

) and

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

. In 1846, he graduated from

Jefferson Medical College Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the univer ...

. Leaming began practicing medicine in Cape May County the following year and did so for fourteen years before having to give up the practice due to poor health. He married Eliza Bennett on February 27, 1849. In 1854 his son Walter S. Leaming was born, who later became a state senator. Another son, Edmund, was born in 1857 and also became a politician.Lewis Publishing 1900, p. 294 Leaming graduated from the Philadelphia Dental College in 1860 and subsequently practiced dentistry. Leaming held a number of county-level offices, including superintendent of schools, county school examiner, and trustee of the State

Normal School A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...

. In 1861 Leaming was elected to the New Jersey Assembly as a Republican. He was elected to the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...

in 1862. Leaming served on the committee that granted

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

its agricultural endowment. Leaming was elected surrogate of Cape May County in 1868 and re-elected in 1873. He resigned from this position in 1877 to return to the state senate, serving until 1880. Leaming served a number of roles in the Baptist religious organization including deacon, clerk, teacher, and Sunday school superintendent. Leaming married Josephine Young, a sister of his first wife, on October 24, 1888. He retired from public life in 1898 after an attack of poor health. On April 22, 1907, a fire broke out in Leaming's house in

Cape May Court House, New Jersey Cape May Court House is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Middle Township in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States.

. His daughter, Helen F. Leaming, rescued him from the flames and was also severely burned. Leaming died on April 25, 1907, from complications from the burns, aged 84.

References

1822 births 1907 deaths Republican Party New Jersey state senators Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Jefferson Medical College alumni 19th-century American physicians 19th-century American legislators People from Middle Township, New Jersey Politicians from Cape May County, New Jersey Deaths from fire in the United States Burials in New Jersey 19th-century American dentists 19th-century New Jersey politicians {{NewJersey-politician-stub