John Samuel Benham 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 Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

.

Born on a farm near Benham, Indiana, Benham attended the public schools, a business college in Delaware, Ohio

Delaware, Ohio

The City of Delaware is a city in and the county seat of Delaware County in the United States state of Ohio. Delaware was founded in 1808 and was incorporated in 1816. It is located near the center of Ohio, is about north of Columbus, and is part of the Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Area...

, and a normal school in Brookville, Indiana

Brookville, Indiana

Brookville is a town in Brookville Township, Franklin County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,625 at the 2000 census. The town is the county seat of Franklin County.-Geography:...

.
He taught school in the winter and attended college in the summer, being engaged as a teacher in various places in Indiana from 1882 to 1907.
He was graduated from Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute, Indiana

Terre Haute, Indiana

Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...

, in 1893 and from Indiana University

Indiana University

Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...

 at Bloomington, Indiana

Bloomington, Indiana

Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....

, in 1903.
Specialized in history at the University of Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

 for several terms.
Superintendent of schools for Ripley County for fourteen years.
He returned to Benham, Indiana, in 1907 and engaged in the timber, milling, and contracting business.
Also followed agricultural pursuits.
He served as delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1916.

Benham was 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 Sixty-sixth

66th United States Congress

The Sixty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, comprising the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1919 to March 4, 1921, during the last two years of...

 and Sixty-seventh

67th United States Congress

The Sixty-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, 1921 to March 4, 1923, during the first two years...

 Congresses (March 4, 1919-March 3, 1923).
He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures on Public Buildings (Sixty-seventh Congress).
He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1922 to the Sixty-eighth

68th United States Congress

The Sixty-eighth 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, 1923 to March 4, 1925, during the last months of...

 Congress.
He moved to Batesville, Indiana

Batesville, Indiana

Batesville is a city in Franklin and Ripley counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 6,520 at the 2010 census. Both the Batesville Casket Company and the Hill-Rom hospital bed manufacturer are headquartered in this town...

, in 1923 and engaged as a building contractor.
Again superintendent of schools for Ripley County, Indiana from 1924 to 1929.
He retired from active business pursuits in 1931 and resided in Batesville, Indiana

Batesville, Indiana

Batesville is a city in Franklin and Ripley counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 6,520 at the 2010 census. Both the Batesville Casket Company and the Hill-Rom hospital bed manufacturer are headquartered in this town...

, until his death there on December 11, 1935.
He was interred in Benham Church Cemetery, near Benham, Indiana.