Joseph Vance was a Whig politician from Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. He was the 13th Governor of Ohio and the first Whig to hold the position.

Vance was born in Catfish (now Washington), Pennsylvania

Washington, Pennsylvania

Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, within the Pittsburgh Metro Area in the southwestern part of the state...

. He moved with his father, a Revolutionary War veteran, to Vanceburg, Kentucky

Vanceburg, Kentucky

Vanceburg is a city in Lewis County, Kentucky, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,731 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lewis County.Vanceburg is part of the Maysville Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

 and then to Urbana, Ohio

Urbana, Ohio

Urbana is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Ohio, United States, west of Columbus. Urbana was laid out in 1805, and for a time in 1812 was the headquarters of the Northwestern army. Urbana was named after the town of Urbanna, Virginia. It is the burial-place of the Indian fighter...

.

A farmer, Vance gained a commission during the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

 and rose quickly from Major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

 to Major General

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

. He served in the Ohio House of Representatives

Ohio House of Representatives

The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate....

 in 1812-1813, 1815-1816 and 1818-1819. Elected to the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 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 to 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.