Aaron Harlan was a U.S. Representative

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...

 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...

, cousin of Andrew Jackson Harlan.

Born in Warren County, Ohio

Warren County, Ohio

Warren County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. The population was 212,693 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Lebanon. Warren County was erected May 1, 1803, from Hamilton County, and named for Dr...

, Harlan attended the public schools, and later studied law. He was admitted to the bar

Admission to the bar in the United States

In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...

 and commenced practice in Xenia, Ohio

Xenia, Ohio

Xenia is a city in and the county seat of Greene County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio 21 miles from Dayton and is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, in 1825. He served as member of 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 1832 and 1833. He served in the Ohio Senate

Ohio Senate

The Ohio State Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly, the legislative body for the U.S. state of Ohio. There are 33 State Senators. The state legislature meets in the state capital, Columbus. The President of the Senate presides over the body when in session, and is currently Tom...

 in 1838, 1839, and 1849. He moved to a farm near Yellow Springs, Ohio

Yellow Springs, Ohio

Yellow Springs is a village in Greene County, Ohio, United States, and is the location of Antioch College and Antioch University Midwest. The population was 3,487 at the 2010 census...

, in 1841 and continued the practice of law. He was a Presidential elector in 1844 for Clay

Henry Clay

Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...

/Frelinghuysen

Theodore Frelinghuysen

Theodore Frelinghuysen was an American politician, serving as New Jersey Attorney General, United States Senator, and Mayor of Newark, New Jersey before running as a candidate for Vice President with Henry Clay on the Whig ticket in the election of 1844...

. He served as delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1850. He served as member of the board of trustees of Antioch College

Antioch College

Antioch College is a private, independent liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. It was the founder and the flagship institution of the six-campus Antioch University system. Founded in 1852 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1853 with politician and...

 in 1852.

Harlan was elected as a Whig

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

 to the Thirty-third Congress

33rd United States Congress

The Thirty-third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1853 to March 3, 1855, during the first two years...

, reelected as an Opposition Party

Opposition Party (United States)

The Opposition Party in the United States is a label with two different applications in Congressional history, as a majority party in Congress 1854-58, and as a Third Party in the South 1858-1860....

 candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congress

35th United States Congress

The 35th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1857 to March 3, 1859, during the first two years of James...

, and elected as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 to the Thirty-fifth

35th United States Congress

The 35th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1857 to March 3, 1859, during the first two years of James...

 Congresses (March 4, 1853-March 3, 1859).
He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1858 to the Thirty-sixth Congress

36th United States Congress

The Thirty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1859 to March 4, 1861, during the third and fourth...

 and in 1861 to fill a vacancy in the Thirty-seventh Congress

37th United States Congress

The Thirty-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1861 to March 4, 1863, during the first two...

. He resumed the practice of law and engaged in agricultural pursuits near Yellow Springs. He served as lieutenant colonel of the Ninety-fourth Regiment of Minutemen of Ohio in 1862.

Harlan moved to San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

, in 1864 and resided there until his death on January 8, 1868.
He was interred in Laurel Hill Cemetery.

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