{{short description|American politician}} <!-- This article was automatically created by User:polbot from http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=W000291. The prose may be stilted, and there may be grammatical and Wikification errors. Please improve in any way you see fit. -->{{Infobox officeholder | birth_name = Benjamin Franklin Welty | name = Benjamin F. Welty | image = Benjamin F. Welty-hec.18520.jpg | caption = | state = Ohio | district = 4th | term_start = March 4, 1917 | term_end = March 3, 1921 | preceded = J. Edward Russell | succeeded = John L. Cable | birth_date = {{birth date|1870|8|9}} | birth_place = Bluffton, Ohio, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1962|10|23|1870|8|9}} | death_place = Dayton, Ohio, U.S. | resting_place = Woodlawn Cemetery, Shawnee Township, Ohio | party = Democratic | spouse = | children = | alma_mater = Ohio Northern University<br>University of Michigan }}
'''Benjamin Franklin Welty''' (August 9, 1870 – October 23, 1962) was an American soldier and attorney who served two terms as a U.S. representative from Ohio from 1917 to 1921.
==Early life and military service== Born near Bluffton, Ohio, and Pandora, Ohio, Welty's parents emigrated from Switzerland to Ohio in the mid-1800s. He attended the common schools and the Tri-State Normal College of Indiana. He graduated from the Ohio Northern University at Ada in 1894 and from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1896. He studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1896 and commenced practice in Lima, Ohio.
He served as city solicitor of Bluffton from 1897 to 1909.
=== Spanish-American War === He also served as a private during the Spanish–American War.
==Legal and political career== He became prosecuting attorney of Allen County 1905–1910, and was a lieutenant colonel in the Ohio National Guard 1908–1913. He served as special counsel to the Ohio Attorney General 1911–1913, and was a special assistant in the United States Department of Justice 1913–1915.
=== Congress === Welty was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-fifth and Sixty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1917 – March 3, 1921). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1920 to the Sixty-seventh Congress.
=== Later career === After his Congressional career, he was employed with Inland Waterways Association 1921–1924. He resumed the practice of law until 1951, when he retired.
== Death and burial == He died in Dayton, Ohio, October 23, 1962. He was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery, Shawnee Township, Ohio.
==References== {{CongBio|W000291}} Retrieved on 2009-03-04
{{Bioguide}}
==External links== * {{Commons category-inline|Benjamin F. Welty}} * {{Internet Archive author |sname=Benjamin F. Welty}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=Ohio | district=4 | before=J. Edward Russell | after=John L. Cable | years=1917–1921}} {{s-end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Welty, Benjamin Franklin}} Category:1870 births Category:1962 deaths Category:American people of Swiss descent Category:People from Bluffton, Ohio Category:Ohio lawyers Category:Trine University alumni Category:Ohio Northern University alumni Category:University of Michigan alumni Category:American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Category:County district attorneys in Ohio Category:United States Army soldiers Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Ohio Category:20th-century United States representatives