US Congressman, Lawyer. He was a United States Representative from the State of Ohio. He was born one of six children as Joseph Mosley Root to Edward Root (1776-1859), and his wife Sally Cole Root (1790-1879), in Brutus, New York, on October 7, 1807. He was educated locally and pursued classical studies, before studying law in Auburn, New York. Following his education, he moved to the State of Ohio in 1829 and was admitted to the bar in 1830, and commenced his practice of law in Norwalk, Ohio, shortly thereafter. He was then elected and served a term as the Prosecuting Attorney for Huron County, Ohio. He then took an interest in politics and was elected and served a term as the Mayor of Sandusky, Ohio, from 1832 to 1833. He then was elected as a Member of the Ohio Senate from the Huron County, Ohio, and Erie County, Ohio, Districts, serving in that position from December 7, 1840, and December 4, 1842. He was preceded in office by Josiah Tracy and succeeded in office by John Fuller in that same post. He then decided to run for a seat in the United States Congress and was elected to succeed the outgoing United States Representative Edward Stowe Hamlin (1808-1894), on March 4, 1845. A Member of the Whig Party, he then served Ohio's 21st District (Twenty-Ninth Congress and Thirtieth Congress), in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1845, to March 3, 1849. A Member of the Free Soil Party, he was reelected to serve Ohio's 21st District (Thirty-First Congress), in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1849, to March 3, 1851. In total, he was elected in 1844, reelected in 1846, and reelected again in 1848. While serving in the United States Congress, he introduced a resolution that recommended that New Mexico and California have territorial governments which excluded slavery in 1848. While serving in the United States Congress, he also served as Chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Treasury representing the Thirtieth Congress. Following his term in the United States Congress, he was succeeded in office by the incoming United States Representative Norton Strange Townshend (1815-1895), on March 4, 1851. After leaving the United States Congress, he served as a Delegate to the Republican National Convention from the State of Ohio in 1856, and as Presidential Elector on the Republican Party ticket in 1860. He was then appointed to serve a term as United States Attorney for the Northern District of the State of Ohio in 1861, and also served another term as a Member of the Ohio State Senate in 1869. He also served as a Member of the Ohio State Senate representing the 30th District from January 3, 1870, to December 13, 1871. He was preceded by Homer Everett who also served with him in that same post during this time, and was succeeded by W.O. Parker. He lastly served as a Democratic Delegate to the Ohio State Constitutional Convention from Erie County, Ohio, in 1873. He was an unsuccessful Democratic Candidate for Probate Judge of Erie County, Ohio, in 1875. He then retired from politics. Following his retirement from politics, he resumed his practice of law until his passing from advanced age in Sandusky, Ohio, on April 7, 1879, at the age of 71. Following his death, he was buried in Oakland Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio. He was married to Mary Smyser Buckingham Root in Norwalk, Ohio, on June 22, 1835, and the couple had five children together including, Sarah E. Root Dyer (1836-1927), Martha Root (1840-1900), Amelia Root Brownell (1840-1918), Elizabeth B. "Lizzie" Root (1842-1914), and Mary J. Root (1853-1872). His wife Mary predeceased him having passed away in Sandusky, Ohio, on October 4, 1876, at the age of 60, and she was also buried in Oakland Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio. His former residence, The Joseph Root House in Sandusky, Ohio, may have been a "safe house," on the Underground Railroad and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.