Born in Georgetown, Ohio, White attended the public schools and the subscription school run by his father, John D. White, where he befriended Ulysses Grant, a classmate.

He served in the Mexican–American War with Company G, First Regiment, Ohio Volunteers.

He was admitted to the bar in 1848 and commenced the practice of law in Georgetown, Ohio.

His vote on the Thirteenth Amendment is recorded as nay.

He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1864 to the Thirty-ninth Congress.