Representative Lynn Sedwick Hornor

Lynn Sedwick Hornor (November 3, 1874 – September 23, 1933) was an American banker, businessman, and Democratic politician who represented West Virginia in the United States House of Representatives from 1931 to 1933. He was born in Clarksburg, Harrison County, West Virginia, where he spent virtually his entire life and established himself as a prominent figure in the local financial and energy sectors before entering national politics.

Hornor attended the public schools of Clarksburg, receiving the basic education that prepared him for a career in business and public affairs. Entering the workforce at a young age, he began his professional life in banking, a field that would remain central to his career and local influence for more than four decades.

In 1892, Hornor was employed as a bank clerk, marking the start of his long association with the banking industry. Over time he advanced through positions of increasing responsibility, serving successively as cashier and then as a director of the bank, roles he continued to hold until his death in 1933. Parallel to his banking career, he became deeply involved in the development of West Virginia’s natural resources. He served as president and manager of a number of coal, oil, and gas development companies, as well as land companies, reflecting both the economic character of the state and his own entrepreneurial interests.

Hornor’s leadership in the energy sector was further underscored by his service as president of the West Virginia Natural Gas Association in 1917 and 1918, a period when natural gas was becoming increasingly important to the regional economy. During the First World War, he also contributed to the state’s wartime mobilization and planning as a member of the advisory West Virginia council of defense, participating in efforts to coordinate resources and support the national war effort.

Building on his prominence in business and civic affairs, Hornor entered elective politics as a member of the Democratic Party. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat to the Seventy-second Congress and was reelected to the Seventy-third Congress, representing West Virginia from March 4, 1931, until his death. His tenure in Congress coincided with the early years of the Great Depression, a time when issues of banking stability, industrial employment, and resource development—areas in which he had substantial experience—were central to national debate.

Hornor died in office on September 23, 1933, in Washington, D.C., while still serving as a member of the Seventy-third Congress. Following his death, he was returned to his native city and interred in Odd Fellows Cemetery in Clarksburg, West Virginia, closing a life closely tied to the economic and political life of his home state.