Seabury Ford was born October 15, 1801 in Cheshire, Connecticut. He was the sixth generation of his family to live in North America. His family arrived in Massachusetts in 1637 and were among the original settlers of the colony of Connecticut. Ford's father moved the family to Burton, Ohio in 1807.
Seabury was educated at the Burton Academy and later returned to Connecticut in 1821 to attend Yale, graduating in 1825. After graduation he studied the law with his uncle, Judge Peter Hitchcock. He was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1827 and began to practice law in Burton. While practicing law he became involved in the state militia and was promoted to the rank of major general.. Ford married his cousin Harriet Cook on September 10, 1828. During their marriage they had five sons.
Ford first entered politics in 1835, serving as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives. He held this position for three terms. He also served as speaker of the house for one term and served as a member of the Ohio State Senate from 1841-1848.
After serving in the General Assembly, Ford was elected to the governorship in late 1848 by a margin of 311 votes out of nearly 300,000. This was the closest gubernatorial election in Ohio history and ultimately had to be decided by the state legislature. This delayed the inauguration for six weeks. He became Ohio's twentieth governor on January 22, 1849 and was the last Whig governor.
During his term Ohioans were deeply divided over the issue of slavery. He had cam- paigned against the expansion of slavery and for the repeal of the Black Laws. The legislature was unable to accomplish very little during his term as governor, but Ford did achieve success with the repeal of the Black Laws. These were laws that discriminated against the African
Americans in Ohio.
Ford retired from politics and returned home to Burton after his term as governor ended December 12, 1850. Less than a week after arriving home he suffered a stroke and spent the remainder of his life partially paralyzed and in poor health. He died on May 8, 1855 and was buried at Welton Cemetery in Burton, Ohio. He was 53 years old.
