Jonathan Nicholas Langham was a prominent Indiana jurist and two-term U.S. Congressman. Langham was born in East Run, Grant Township, Indiana County on August 4, 1861. He was one of twelve children of Jonathan and Eliza Barr Langham. After graduating from the Purchase Line Academy, Langham attended Indiana Normal School. He graduated in 1882 and taught school for a while.
Langham studied law with Attorney John N. Banks and was admitted to the bar in 1888 and commenced law practice in Indiana, Pennsylvania. In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison named Langham Postmaster of Indiana, an assignment he held until 1893. From 1898 to 1904, he was an assistant United States attorney and was Chief Corporation Deputy in the Auditor’s Department of Pennsylvania, 1904 to 1909. In 1909, he was elected as a Republican Representative to Congress, serving until 1915. After leaving Congress, he was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the 40th Judicial District of Pennsylvania and served until retiring in 1936. Langham was also a partner in the Indiana Railway Company.
He was married to Clara Cameron, with whom he had two daughters. His wife died in 1928. Judge Langham resided with his daughter and her family at their home on the corner of North 9th and Chestnut Streets. He died on May 21, 1945, at age 83.