Representative Joseph Cable

Joseph Cable (April 17, 1801 – May 1, 1880) was an American lawyer, newspaper publisher, and Democratic politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Ohio for two terms from 1849 to 1853. He was the great-grandfather of Congressman John Levi Cable, extending his family’s connection to the United States Congress across multiple generations.

Cable was born on April 17, 1801, in Jefferson County, then part of the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, in what later became the State of Ohio. He attended the public schools of the region, receiving a basic formal education typical of the early frontier period. After his schooling, he pursued the study of law, preparing for a professional career at a time when Ohio was still a young and developing state.

Upon completion of his legal studies, Cable was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Jefferson County, Ohio. In addition to his legal work, he became active in the world of journalism and political communication. In 1831 he established and published the Jeffersonian and Democrat at Steubenville, Ohio, a newspaper that reflected and helped shape Democratic Party views in the region. He later founded and published another paper, the Ohio Patriot, at New Lisbon, Ohio, further solidifying his role as both attorney and influential editor in northeastern Ohio.

Cable’s prominence as a Democratic editor and lawyer contributed to his election to national office. While residing in Carroll County, Ohio, he was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-first and Thirty-second Congresses, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1849, to March 3, 1853. As a member of the Democratic Party representing Ohio, Joseph Cable contributed to the legislative process during his two terms in office. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, as the nation grappled with issues of territorial expansion, sectional tensions, and the evolving balance between free and slave states. During these years he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his Ohio constituents in the national legislature. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1852, concluding his congressional service at the end of his second term.

After leaving Congress, Cable returned to his combined pursuits of journalism and public life. In 1853 he moved to Sandusky, Ohio, where he published the Daily Sandusky Minor, continuing his longstanding engagement with political discourse through the press. In 1857 he relocated to Van Wert, Ohio, where he established another newspaper, the American, and later the Bulletin, maintaining his influence as a Democratic voice in the region.

In the later phase of his career, Cable continued to move within Ohio, following opportunities in both publishing and politics. He spent a period living in Wauseon, Ohio, where he published the Wauseon Republican, and subsequently moved to Paulding, Ohio. In Paulding he founded and published the Political Review, extending his decades-long involvement in newspaper publishing and political commentary. Through these various publications across multiple Ohio communities, he remained an active participant in public affairs long after his congressional service had ended.

Joseph Cable died on May 1, 1880. He was interred in Live Oak Cemetery, leaving behind a legacy as a lawyer, editor, and Democratic officeholder whose career spanned the formative decades of Ohio’s statehood and whose family line continued in congressional service through his great-grandson, John Levi Cable.