USA > Ohio > Ohio legislative history, 1913-1917 > Part 43
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rural school legislation, and did all in his power to have the present rural school law changed. He was also interested in legislation to com- pel all cities to have public toilets. He introduced House Bill No. 432, to regulate or control the brilliant headlights of automobiles, also to regulate the speed and careless driving of automobiles. The bill passed both Houses with but one dissenting vote, and is a law. Mr. Cable is an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Canton, Ohio, and he has been a member of that denomination since boyhood.
At the regular session of the Eighty-second General Assembly in 1917, Representative Cable served as a member of the following com- mittees, namely : Mines and Mining, Public Utilities, and Villages.
HON. L. F. CAIN. (Noble County)
The last of the 88 counties to be formed in Ohio - Noble County - was established by act of the Legislature on March IIth, 1851. It is claimed that the name of the county was derived from the fact that a mem- ber of the Legislature, Warren P. Noble, of Seneca County, whose influence was badly needed in getting the Enabling Act passed, was given the honor as a matter of good policy on the part of the friends of the meas- ure. Caldwell was chosen the county seat by popular vote in 1857, the town of Sarahs- ville having been the temporary seat of jus- tice up to that time. A new courthouse was completed on the public square in Caldwell in 1859, at a cost of $13,000.00. Henry Howe, the Historian, asserts that petroleum was first found in this county, in the year 1816.
Hon. L. F. Cain, Representative of Noble County in the Eighty- second General Assemly of Ohio, was born on a farm in Enoch Town- ship, Noble County, Ohio, July 21st, 1856. He worked upon the farm and attended country school until 16 years of age, when he began teach- ing. By his own efforts, he acquired an education at the State University of Indiana, and later, graduated in medicine at Louisville, Ky. Dr. Cain is a Republican, and has ever been active in the interests of his party.
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OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
In the year 1901, he was chosen to represent Noble County in the 75th General Assembly of Ohio, and he was among the Republican leaders of that body. Since that period, he has resided for some years in Okla- homa, and at Washington, D. C., but several years since, returned to his home in Noble County.
In the year 1916, Dr. Cain was nominated at the popular primary, and elected in that year, as a Republican, to represent Noble County in the Ohio House of Representatives - Eighty-second General - Assem- bly. - He is a fluent speaker and always commands the attention of his audience Dr. Cain is married, and lives at Caldwell, where he practices his profession.
At the regular session of the Eighty-second General Assembly in 1917, Representative Cain served as a member of the committees on Labor, Mines and Mining, and Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home.
HON. ROBERT B. CAMERON. (Defiance County)
The county of Defiance was organized March 4th, 1845, when it was taken out of the surrounding territory of Williams, Henry and Paulding Counties, and given its name from the fact that Old Fort Defiance was erected within the future boundaries of the county, by Gen. Anthony Wayne, in 1794, as a protection to his army against the In- dians and English in the Indian Wars. It is said that Gen. Wayne, after completing the Fort, exclaimed: "I defy the English, the Indians, and all the devils in Hell, to take it." General Scott, who happened to be standing near, remarked: "Then call it Fort Defiance".
Hon. Robert B. Cameron, the present representative of Defiance County, in the Ohio Legislature, was born at Bryan, Williams County, Ohio, Dec. 13th, 1845. His father, John Cameron, kinsman of Hon. Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania, was born in Lancaster County, Pa., A. D. 1807, and his mother, Lydia (Stengar) Cameron, in Lycoming County, of the same state, A. D. 1810. The son Robert attended the country schools and later, Bryan Normal Academy, at Bryan, Ohio.
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OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
He studied medicine with his uncle, Dr. Houston Russell at Evansport, Ohio. He attended the medical department, University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, in 1870-71. He graduated from Starling Medical Col- lege, at Columbus, Ohio, in 1873, since which time he has been actively engaged in the practice of medicine.
On October 15th, 1876, Dr. Cameron was married to Miss Isabel C. Christy, of Evansport, Ohio. They have had seven children, namely : Lillian M., Robert C., Royal B., (deceased), Frances F., Virgil C., John V., and Blanche L. Cameron.
Dr. Cameron has always taken an active part in the politics of Defiance County, as a Democrat, and he has been honored by his fellow- citizens with many positions of trust and responsibility, having served as Township trustee, President of the Board of Education, Justice of the Peace, and coroner of Defiance County for six years. He served two terms as Postmaster, covering a period of ten years, and in the year 1884, he was appointed U. S. Pension Examiner, serving until 1913, - a period of twenty-nine years, continuously. In the year 1912, he was elected a member of the Eightieth General Assembly of Ohio, and re-elected in 1914, a member of the Eighty-first Gneral Assembly. He was again elected in 1916, and represents Defiance County in the Eighty-second General Assembly.
Dr. Cameron was chairman of the Committee on Public Health in the Eightieth General Assembly, and he occupies the same position in the Eighty-second General Assembly, besides being an active member during all the sessions, of the following important committees, namely : Agriculture, Dairy and Food Products, Common Schools, Public High- ways, Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home, State and Economic Bet- terments, and Supplies and Expenditures.
Throughout his service, as a member of the Ohio Legislature, Dr. Cameron has given careful consideration to every measure proposed to be enacted in a law, and his vote was always cast in the interests of his constituency, and the people of the State, as well. He is regarded by all as an honest and faithful public servant and he has the warm friendship of many members of the House and Senate. Dr. Cameron is a member of Evansport Lodge No. 511, F. & A. M., and of North- west Chapter No. 45-R. A. M. of Bryan, Ohio.
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OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
HON. FRANCIS C. CANNY.
(Montgomery County)
One of the youngest, as well as a most popular, member of the Eighty-second Gen- eral Assembly of Ohio, is the subject of this sketch.
Hon. Francis C. Canny was born in Day- ton, Ohio, August 26th, 1889. His father, Anthony Canny, was an Irish immigrant, and was born in County Claire, Ireland. The son, Francis, was educated in the Day- ton public schools, and he graduated in 1909 from St. Mary's College, Dayton, Ohio, with a degree of Bachelor of Arts. He later graduated from Georgetown Law School, in Washington, D. C., where he received a degree of Bachelor of Laws. Mr. Canny was admitted to the Bar of the State of Ohio, in 1913. He then became associated with Hon. Victor J. Vonderheide, who was a member of the Eightieth General Assembly of Ohio. After Mr. Von- derheide's death a year later, Mr. Canny entered partnership with Chas. W. Whalen, under the firm name of Canny & Whalen, with offices in the U. B. Building, Dayton, Ohio. In addition to attending to the duties of his profession, Mr. Canny has for several years in- structed a class in law, for his Alma Mater, St. Mary's College. He has also been deeply interested in civic affairs. He procured his educa- tion by his own efforts, and is already successfully launched in his profession, so much so, that his friends predict for him a most success- ful career in life. To a most agreeable personality, he adds fine tact and energy in all matters requiring his attention.
On April 18th, 1917, after the adjournment of the regular session of the Eighty-second General Assembly, Mr. Canny was united in mar- riage with Miss Helen Rowling, of Dayton, Ohio.
In the year 1916, Mr. Canny was nominated and elected, by the Democrats, as one of the four members to represent Montgomery County in the Ohio House of Representatives, Eighty-second General Assembly.
At the regular session of the Legislature in 1917, Representative Canny was particularly interested in securing efficient and economic
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OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
conduct of State business, and he was author of the law which pro- vides for the establishment of the State purchasing department. He was also author of the bill providing for better regulation of the Build- ing and Loan Associations.
Representative Canny served as Chairman of the Committee on Cities, and as a member of the following committees, namely: Enroll- ment, Judiciary, and Privileges and Elections.
HON. THOMAS J. CARTMELL.
(Auglaize County)
The most interesting surprise developed at the regular session of the Eighty-second Gen- eral Assembly was through the effort of the member from Auglaize County to secure State aid to build a monument to the Soldiers and Sailors of the Civil War, at Wapakoneta, the county seat of Auglaize. Mr. Cartmell, who has passed the age of three-score and ten, and who showed considerable infirmity of health, was generally quiet and practically unobserved, until he made his plea for the support of members for his favorite bill.
His eloquence was so unexpected that his speech turned into a patriotic demonstration in the House, and his meas- ure was unanimously carried. Hon. Thomas J. Cartmell was born at Mechanicsburg, Champaign County, Ohio, March 10th, 1847. His father, W. H. Cartmell, who was a practicing physician, was born in Clark County, Ohio. His mother, nee Margaret A. Baker, was born in Mechanicsburg. Thomas J. Cartmell was educated in the common schools and High School at Mechanicsburg. He bought text books at New York and Chicago, and studied them for further education, thus following the example of the celebrated Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, who largely educated himself in the same way. Mr. Cartmell was engaged in the music business for several years at Springfield and Marysville, Ohio, until 1881, when he located at Wapakoneta. In the year 1877 he was married to Miss Sabra Stacy, of Mechanicsburg, Ohio. Four children were born to them, three of whom, Don, Alice and Edith, are living. The firstborn, John, died at the age of one year. Mr. Cart-
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OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
mell is a Civil War veteran, he having served his country first in the Eighty-sixth O. V. I., next in the 132nd O. V. I., and last in the 174th O. V. L., serving altogether two years.
In the year 1885, Mr. Cartmell was chosen by the Democrats of Wapakoneta to be the Chief Executive of the city, and he was re-elected twice, serving three two-year terms as mayor. At the popular primary in 1916 he was chosen as a Democrat to represent his county in the State Legislature, and he was duly elected in November, following.
Mr. Cartmell served as a member of the Committees on Benevolent and Penal Institutions, Fees and Salaries, Manufactures and Com- merce, Mines and Mining, Public Parks and Works, and Supplies and -Expenditures.
HON. ORRA B. CHAPMAN.
(Montgomery County)
Elected for the third time a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from Montgomery County, the subject of this sketch has been charged with important duties in matters of legislation, all of which he has fulfilled faithfully and well.
Hon. Orra B. Chapman was born in Hamil- ton County, Ohio, Nov. 15th, 1869. His father, John S. Chapman, was also born in Hamilton County. The son received his edu- cation in the public schools at Springfield, Ohio, and here he learned the trade of a Decorator. In the year 1896, Orra B. Chapman was united in marriage with Miss May C. Nicholas, of Dayton, Ohio, and the union has been blessed with four daughters and three sons. Mr. Chapman served as a soldier in the Spanish-American War, and he never held any public office prior to his election to the General Assembly. He is a member of the Painters' and Decorators' Union, and a strong factor in organized labor movements. He is one of the Vice-Presidents of the Ohio State Federation.
At the regular session of the 80th General Assembly, Representative Chapman was chosen Chairman of the House committee on Labor, and he occupies the same important position in the 82nd General Assembly.
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OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
At the regular session of the 82nd General Assembly in 1917, Rep- resentative Chapman was author of H. B. No. 135, to prevent job sell- ing ; H. B. No. 363, relating to the placing of insurance policies on prop- erty in Ohio; and to repeal original section 5438; H. B. No. 429, relative to salaries of Industrial Commission of Ohio; H. B. No. 461, to create a commission to conduct a study of health insurance and sickness preven- tion, and of old age insurance; H. B. No. 589, relating to operation of motorcycles and motor vehicles. All of these bills were passed and be- came laws.
Besides the chairmanship of the committee on Labor, Representative Chapman served as a member of the committees: Appropriations and Finance, Liquor Traffic and Temperance, and Public Waterways.
HON. JOHN H. CHESTER.
(Paulding County)
Paulding County, Ohio, was named for John Paulding, famous in American history as one of the three Captors of Major Andre, the British spy in the War of the Revolu- tion. The county was created by legislative act, April Ist, 1820, but was not given a civil organization until the year 1839.
Hon. John H. Chester, who represents Paulding County, in the Eighty-second Gen- eral Assembly of Ohio, was born in Crane Township, Paulding County, June 12th, 1858. His father, Thomas Chester, was born in Rannds Northamptonshire, England. The son, John, was educated in the township schools, and the first and second schools he attended were in log houses. The first years of his manhood were spent in the meat market business, and milling, besides the hay, grain and livestock business. Mr. Chester is at present, largely engaged in farming and livestock business, and he is a licensed veterinarian.
In the year 1887, Mr. Chester was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Sunday of Antwerp, Ohio, and the union has been blessed with seven children, as follows: Adeline C., Thomas E., Margaret D., John H. Jr., H. Ray, Paul F., Albert B.
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OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
In the year 1914, Mr. Chester was nominated and elected, as a Republican, to represent Paulding County in the Eighty-first General Assembly of Ohio, and he was again nominated and elected in 1916 to serve in the Eighty-second General Assembly. In the Eighty-first Gen- eral Assembly, Representative Chester was active in support of the "Cass Highway Bill", and he was author of the County Carnegie Library Bill, which became a Law. He was also author of a bill for the con- trol and management of the public parks of the State, and for securing the passage of this bill, he was complimented by the State Superintendent of Public Works in the following language, to-wit: "These rules or laws, it is believed, will go far towards the betterment of the social, moral and sanitary conditions in and around all of the State Reservoir Parks".
In the Eighty-second General Assembly, Mr. Chester offered a bill authorizing the State to pay members of the Ohio National Guard, One Dollar per day while in Camp Willis, but the bill was never reported out of the Committee on Military Affairs.
In the Eighty-first General Assembly, Representative Chester served as a member of the committees on Agriculture, Public Highways, and Public Waterways, and in the Eighty-second General Assembly, he was a member of the committees on Agriculture, Constitutional Amendments and I. and R., County Affairs, Public Buildings and Lands, and Villages.
HON. MILTON CLARK.
(Warren County)
One of the first counties to be established by Legislative Enactment in Ohio, perpetuates the memory of one of the early heroes and martyrs to the cause of American independ- ence; Gen. Joseph Warren, who fell at the battle of Bunker Hill. This county has been the home of many notable Ohioans, chief of which was Tom Corwin, the "Wagoner boy". Probably the most distinguished citizen of that county to serve in an Ohio Legislature, in recent years, is the present member of the Ohio House of Representatives, in the Eighty-second General Assembly.
Hon. Milton Clark, lawyer and jurist, was born in Warren County, Ohio. His father, Samuel Clark, was also a native of Warren County.
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OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
The great-grandfather of Milton Clark was a soldier of the American Revolution, and a member of Captain Cresap's Rifles, which organiza- tion marched from Old Town, Maryland, to Cambridge, Mass. Milton Clark was educated in the common schools, at Maineville Academy, and he graduated at Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio, in the class of 1873. He then attended Cincinnati Law School, from which institution he graduated in the class of '75. He practiced Law in Cin- cinnati and Lebanon with success until 1895, in which year he was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the Second Judicial District. Judge Clark held that office continuously until 1913.
In the year 1914, Judge Clark was nominated by the Republicans of Warren County, to represent the County in the Eighty-first General Assembly. He was elected in that year, and re-elected in 1916, to serve in the Eighty-second General Assembly.
The Republicans were in the majority in the Eighty-first General Assembly of Ohio, and they at once made the natural selection of Judge Clark for Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, the duties of which place he performed with distinguished ability. In the Eighty- second General Assembly, the Democrats had the majority of the House, and Judge Clark was made a member of the Joint Tax Committee, which was non-partisan, and was given the great task of revising the entire Tax Laws of Ohio. The labors and advice of Judge Clark, as a member of this committee, was of the greatest value to the people of Ohio. In addition to this service in the Eighty-second General Assembly, Judge Clark served as a member of the following committees, namely : Civil Service, Judiciary, Military Affairs, and State and Economic Bet- terment.
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OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
HON. WILLIAM R. COMINGS.
(Lorain County)
The county of Lorain was established on Dec. 26th, 1822, out of Huron, Medina and Cuyahoga Counties. The first election of county officials was held in April of that year. Early settlers from the New England States had occupied portions of the county since 1807, headed by Justin H. Ely, of Mas- sachusetts, who was a member of the "Con- necticut Land Company". The county seat, Elyria, was named in honor of Mr. Ely, by a lengthening of his family name.
Hon. William R. Comings, who represents Lorain County in the Ohio House of Repre- sentatives, Eighty-second General Assembly, was born at East Berkshire, Vermont, Feb. 16th, 1851. His father, Andrew C. Comings, was born at the same place and he came of early Puritan stock that were among the first settlers of Massachusetts. The family moved to Oberlin, Ohio, in 1855, where William R. and his brother, Andrew G., who also has represented Lorain County in the Ohio Legislature, and four other chil- dren were educated. William left his college studies for a business posi- tion in Chicago, where he also studied, and afterward took a Normal School course at Kirksville, Mo. In 1874, he began educational work as Superintendent of Schools at Medina, Ohio, where he spent eight years, then nine years at Norwalk, Ohio, and two years at Ironton, Ohio. Failing health caused Mr. Comings to resign school work for editorial duties, first at Springfield, Mo., then at Lorain, Ohio.
In the year 1901, Mr. Comings was elected Superintendent of Pub- lic Schools at Elyria, where he remained until 1916, when he resigned to become a candidate for the Legislature. For twenty-five years, Mr. Comings served as a school examiner, for three years as an executive committeeman of the Northeastern Ohio Teachers' Association, and later, for three years, of the State Association.
In the year 1878, Mr. Comings was joined in marriage with Miss Loretta E. Kennedy, of Medina, Ohio. They have two daughters, Mrs. Josephine Egbert, Indianapolis Ind., and Marian E., who is Librarian at the Art Museum at Cleveland, Ohio.
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OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
At the popular primary held in August, 1916, Mr. Comings was nominated, as a Republican, to represent Lorain County in the Eighty- second General Assembly of Ohio, and in November, following, he was duly elected.
At the regular session of the Eighty-second General Assembly, Rep- resentative Comings introduced House Bill No. 371, "relating to main- taining free public libraries and hstorical collections," which was passed, and became a Law. He also introduced various bills relating to educa- tional matters, which were left in committee. Mr. Comings served as a member of the following House committees, namely: Federal Rela- tions, Insurance, Universities, Colleges and Normal Schools.
HON. JOHN COWAN. (Putnam County)
Seldom has any member of the Ohio Legis- lature been twice chosen to so important a position as the Chairmanship of the Com- mittee on Appropriations and Finance.
However, on account of his particular fit- ness for the place and his great personal popularity, Mr. Cowan was given the honor of this appointment in the 82nd General As- sembly of Ohio, he having occupied the same position, with distinction and credit to him- self in the 80th General Assembly.
Hon. John Cowan was born in Monterey Township, Putnam County, Ohio, March 8th, 1864. His father, Moses C. Cowan, was born in Fairfield County, Ohio. The mother, Watrene Cowan, nee Kartier, was born in Holland. Both parents died in 1874. Moses C. Cowan served as a volunteer soldier in the 118th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in the American Civil War. The son, John, was educated in the country schools of Putnam County and he attended National Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio, one year. He taught school in Jennings Township, Putnam County, for twelve years. In the year 1888 Mr. Cowan was united in marriage with Miss Jennie Dunlap, of Jennings Township, Putnam County, Ohio. They have three daughters, Watrena, Chloe, and Helen, and a son, Raymond M.
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OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
Mr. Cowan was elected Recorder of Putnam County in 1896, and he was re-elected to that office, serving six years. He was for many years a member of the Board of Education at Ottawa, Ohio, serving four years as President and he has served as Road Supervisor, Assessor, and Justice of the Peace in Jennings Township.
In the year 1910, Mr. Cowan was nominated and elected in Putnam County, as a Democrat, to the 79th General Assembly, and in 1912 he was re-elected by a largely increased majority. In the 79th General Assembly, Representative Cowan introduced a sterilization bill for unfit and hereditary criminals. The bill failed to pass, and was again presented by Mr. Cowan in the 80th General Assembly, but did not be- come a law. Representative Cowan served on the Committee on Ap- propriations and Finance, in the 79th General Assembly, and was pro- moted to the Chairmanship of that important Committee in the 80th General Assembly. In the 8Ist General Assembly, to which body Mr. Cowan had been returned by his constituents, the Democratic party was in the minority, but in the 82nd General Assembly, his party being again in the majority, and Mr. Cowan having been for the fourth time chosen by his constituents to represent them, he was again chosen, with- out opposition, Chairman of the important Finance Committee.
Besides his important service as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Mr. Cowan's voice has ever been potent in matters of all- round legislation, and he has the distinction of being one of the most popular members ever chosen to Ohio's law-making body.
He has ever been greatly interested in the improvement and beau- tifying of the public parks in connection with the State Reservoir Sys- tem, and he has been active in securing the necessary appropriations for such improvements. These reservoir parks are very properly termed "The poor man's playground," and Mr. Cowan has received many let- ters of appreciation for his efforts in behalf of such improvements.
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OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
HON. EDWIN MILLINER CROSSER.
(Columbiana County)
The earliest settlement in the County of Columbiana, was made in 1792, by John Quinn, who built a cabin near Calcutta, in 3 St. Clair Township, and there he led the life of a hunter. East Liverpool, the county seat, was settled between the years 1795 and 1800. A settlement was made at New Lisbon in 1802. The county was formed the same year that Ohio was admitted into the Union - 1803, and on March 2Ist, the Ohio Legisla- ture in session at Chillicothe, passed the act entitled, "An act for erecting a part of the counties of Jefferson and Washington into a separate county, by the name of Columbiana."
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