Joseph W. Fordney was a lumberman from Saginaw. He had lumbering interests in Michigan, Washington, and other states. He was born in Indiana in 1853 and moved to Saginaw in 1869. He was a vice president of the Saginaw Board of Trade, a city council member, and a Republican member of the United States Congress from 1899-1923. He married Catherine Harren in 1872 and died January 8, 1932.