Born in Windsor, Vermont, Horton attended the Partridge Military School and afterward became one of its tutors. He studied law in Middletown, Connecticut, and was admitted to the bar in 1830. He moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he practiced.

He moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1833, and on to Pomeroy, Ohio, in 1835. He engaged in the sale and transportation of coal and the development of the salt industry. He served as member of the State constitutional convention in 1850.

Horton was elected as an Opposition Party candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congress and was reelected as a Republican to the Thirty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1859). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1858.

He served as member of the Peace Conference of 1861 held in Washington, D.C., in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war. He engaged in coal mining. Horton was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1861–March 3, 1863). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1862 and returned to his home.

He died in Pomeroy, Ohio, January 14, 1888, and was interred in Beech Grove Cemetery.

• United States Congress. "Valentine B. Horton (id: H000800)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2009-04-29

  This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress