Joseph Vance - Definition and Overview

Joseph Vance (March 21, 1786 - August 24, 1852) was a Whig politician from Ohio. He was the 13th Governor of Ohio and the first Whig to hold the position.

Vance was born in Catfish (now Washington), Pennsylvania. He moved with his father, a Revolutionary War veteran, to Vanceburg, Kentucky and then to Urbana, Ohio. A farmer, Vance gained a commission during the War of 1812 and rose quickly from Major to Major General. He served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1812-1813, 1815-1816 and 1818-1819. Elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1820, Vance served seven terms before losing a bid for an eighth term in 1834. Vance ran for governor in 1836 and served a single two-year term, losing a bid for re-election in 1838. He intended to retire but was elected to the Ohio State Senate, and served there from 1840-1841. Vance then ran again for the House of Representatives in 1842, and served two more terms there before refusing to run for re-election in 1846.