USA > Ohio > Ohio legislative history, 1913-1917 > Part 48
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56
Representative Kimball served as a member of the committees: Prisons and Prison Reform, and Public Utilities.
HON. CHARLES W. KING.
(Perry County)
The first known White settler of Perry County of which there is a record, was Peter Overmeyer, who arrived there in 1802 from Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. It is claimed by some that a man by the name of George Arnold entered some land in Read- ing Township, Perry County, in the year 1800, but this is not authenticated. The act creating the county was passed Dec. 26th, 1817, and this was the 52nd of the Ohio counties formed in the order of succession, and it was taken out of the neighboring counties of Washington, Fairfield and Musk- ingum. Later, a strip of Licking County was attached to Perry. The county received its name in honor of Commodore Perry, the hero of the great naval battle on Lake Erie on Sept. 1813. New Lexington, the county seat, became a town in 1817, and was given its name in honor of the Lexington, of the Revolutionary War, where the first battle was fought. After an exciting contest, it became the county seat in 1857, succeeding Somerset, which had been the seat of justice up to that time. Perry County is one of the leading coal, gas and oil producing counties in the State, and ranks high as an industrial center in the Buckeye State.
Hon. Charles W. King, who represents Perry County in the Eighty- second General Assembly of Ohio, was born in Morgan County, Ohio,
595
OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
March 15th, 1868. He is a son of Jonathan S. King, a native of Penn- sylvania. Charles W. King was educated in the country school and at New Lexington High School. He was reared on a farm and he taught school for several years. He was employed for six years as a clerk in the office of the T. & O. C. Ry. at Corning, Ohio, and three years with a large coal company in the capacity of bookkeeper and paymaster. In the year 1900, Mr. King was nominated and elected sheriff of Perry County, and he was re-elected in 1902, serving two terms. He has also filled numerous township offices.
In the year 1889, Mr. King was joined in marriage with Miss Clara E. Wallace, of Perry County, and they have a son, Floyd Dwight King, married, and living in Cleveland, Ohio.
In the year 1916, Mr. King was nominated and elected as a Repub- lican, to a seat in the House of Representatives, and at the regular session of the Eighty-second General Assembly in 1917, he favored legis- lation that would be most beneficial to all of the people, and he believes in "free speech, and a free press".
Representative King served as a member of the following House committees, namely : County Affairs, and Mines and Mining.
HON. LEWIS R. KIOUS.
(Madison County)
Nearly all of the land within the present limits of Madison County was surveyed by Lucas Sullivant, one of the first settlers on the site of the city of Columbus. The work was done previous to the beginning of the nineteenth century, while the Indians were yet hostile, and skirmishes were frequent, constant watchfulness being necessary to guard against surprise and massacre. The act creating Madison County was passed by the Ohio Legislature on February 16th, 1810. The county was given its name in honor of James Madison, then President of the United State. Lafayette, in Deer Creek Township, and London, in Union Township, both embryo towns, were rivals for the county seat in 1810, but in 1811 London was chosen.
596
OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
Since the formation of the Republican party, Madison County has uniformly adhered to that faith in politics. The county is a very rich agricultural section of Ohio, and much fine stock is raised within its limits.
Hon. Lewis R. Kious, representative of Madison County in the 8Ist and 82nd General Assemblies of Ohio, is a prosperous farmer, and was born on a farm near Mt. Sterling, Ohio, May 9th, 1861. His father, George Kious, was born in Fayette County, Ohio. The son, Lewis R., was educated in the township schools, the high school at Mt. Sterling, and he attended the University of Wooster.
In the year 1888, Mr. Kious was joined in marriage with Miss Anna Lorena Shafer, of Hancock County, Ohio. They have five children, Clifford S., Mary Louise, Lewis R., Lorena, and Elizabeth.
The ancestors of Mr. and Mrs. Kious were English and German.
Hon. Lewis R. Kious never held any public office until the year 1914, when he was nominated and elected, as a Republican, to serve in the 8Ist General Assembly of Ohio, and he was re-elected in 1916.
At the regular session of the 82nd General Assembly in 1917, Rep- resentative Kious was greatly interested in trying to have a law enacted for State control and improvement of streams and water courses with a view of reclaiming land and reducing danger of damage from floods. In the 8Ist General Assembly, he was instrumental in providing Ohio with a workable office-building law.
In the 82nd General Assembly, Mr. Kious served as a member of the committees: Banks and Banking, Privileges and Elections, and Villages.
597
OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
HON. ALBERT M. KRAFT.
(Hardin County)
On April Ist, 1820, the Legislature author- ized the erection of several counties in north- western Ohio, the land having been purchased from the Indians, and Hardin County was included in the purchase but was not organ- ized as a seat of justice until Jan. 8th, 1833. Prior to this time, it was attached, judicially, first to Logan, and later to Champaign. Col. John Hardin, for whom the county was named, was an officer in the Continental Army, a native of Virginia, and first came to Ohio on a war expedition against the In- dians on the Pickaway Plains. He was killed in 1792, by Indians, in Shelby County. Kenton, the county seat, was named in honor of Simon Kenton, the noted Indian fighter, and the site was selected by legislative commission, in the spring of 1833. Politically, Hardin County is nearly evenly divided between the Republcans and Democrats, and legislative candidates are usually elected or defeated by very small margins.
The county representative in the 82nd General Assembly -Hon. Albert M. Kraft - is a Republican, and he also served in the 81st Gen- eral Assembly. He was born in Washington Township, Hardin County, Ohio, Jan. 30th, 1868. His father, Charles Kraft, was born in the same township, and he was of German descent. He served his country during the Civil War for nearly four years as a member of the 82nd Ohio Volunteers, and he was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg. The son, Albert, received his education in the public schools, and at Ohio Normal University. He taught school for ten years, during the winter months, and he worked on the farm during the summer. Mr. Kraft has served his township two terms as clerk; two terms as justice of the peace, and one term as land appraiser.
Mr. Kraft was united in marriage with Miss Kora Ohenour, and they have a son 21 years of age, and a daughter 12 years.
In the year 1914, Mr. Kraft was nominated and elected, as a Republican, to serve in the 1st General Assembly of Ohio, and he was re-elected in 1916.
598
OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
At the regular session of the 82nd General Assembly in 1917, Rep- resentative Kraft introduced H. B. No. 32, providing for the creation of a Sundry Claims Board, and the bill passed and became a Law.
Mr. Kraft served as a member of the committees on Civil Service, Dairy and Food Products, and Fees and Salaries.
HON. DAVID ALEXANDER LIGGITT.
(Logan County)
Ever since the Republican party was organ- ized Logan County has uniformly adhered to that faith, and the present representative of that county in the Ohio Legislature is a Republican.
David Alexander Liggitt was born on a farm near Belle Center, Logan County, Ohio, September 15th, 1873. His father, Oliver Liggitt, was born in the year 1847 on what is known as "The Solomon Town Farm" which is located three miles south of Belle Center. Early in the history of Ohio this farm was the headquarters of "Tarhe" the celebrated Wyandotte Indian Chief, and it was on this farm that Simon Kenton was compelled to "run the gauntlet". The mother of D. A. Liggitt was Miss Catharine J. Shields and she was born near West Liberty, Logan County, Ohio, in the year 1847.
D. A. Liggitt was educated in the public school in Belle Center, graduating from high school in 1891. He graduated 1896 Ohio North- ern University and attended the college of law at Ada, Ohio, in 1905. He alternated in working on the farm and teaching school until 1903 when he was made Superintendent of Zane Township High School in Logan County. From 1907 to 1911 he was Principal of the Rushsyl- vania Schools and Superintendent of the Rush Creek Township, Logan County Rural Schools, 1911-12 and 1913-14.
Since his election to the 8Ist General Assembly of Ohio in 1914 and his re-election in 1916, he has been a teacher in Rushsylvania High School.
599
OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
Mr. Liggitt served for several years in the Ohio National Guard and he was First Lieutenant of Company "D" Second Infantry at Belle Center from 1899 until the year 1902. He served as Corporal in Com- pany "F" Second Infantry Ohio Volunteers during the Spanish-Amer- ican War, and was mustered out of the Federal Service at Macon, Georgia, February 10th, 1899. Mr. Liggitt served his constituency in many different positions from Township Clerk to Mayor of Rushsyl- vania, and, in the year 1914 he was nominated to the Legislature, with- out opposition by the Republican party and, at the November election, he was chosen over the candidates of the Democrats, Progressive and Prohibition parties. He was re-nominated and elected in 1916. On June 24th, 1903, Mr. Liggitt was united in marriage with Mss Adda Belle McConnell of Belle Center, Ohio. They have seven children, namely: Mary Jane, Martha Genevieve, Katharine Ulrica, Margaret Elizabeth, Oliver McConnell, Robert Alexander and Willis Hughes.
Mr. Liggitt has ever been active in Republican politics and he served for several years as Secretary of the Logan County Republican Com- mittee.
In the closing hours of the regular session of the 82nd General Assembly the idea that we might soon be at war with a European power prompted Mr. Liggitt to introduce an emergency measure placing at the disposal of the Governor the sum of $250,000 for war purposes. The bill was passed under a suspension of the rules by unanimous consent, and within one hour it had unanimously passed both branches of the General Assembly. Mr. Liggitt, by House Bill No. 593, enabled the State officials to meet any requirement of the Federal Government to date in our war with Germany, and keep the State Military forces pre- pared for emergency, and to carry on a successful recruiting campaign to increase the military forces throughout the State of Ohio.
In 8Ist General Assembly Mr. Liggitt served as Chairman of the Committee on Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home, and a member of the Committees on Public Highways, Military Affairs, and Federal Rela- tions, Universities, Colleges and Normal Schools and Conservation of Natural Resources.
In 82d General Assembly he served as a member of the Committees on Fees and Salaries, Public Printing and Libraries.
600
OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
HON. JOSEPH LUSTIG.
(Cuyahoga County)
Elected for the third time a Representative in the Ohio House of Representatives, the subject of this sketch is now well and fav- orably known as a member of Ohio's law- making body.
Hon. Joseph Lustig was born in New York City, Aug. 27th, 1884. His father, Simon Lustig, a native of Prague, Bohemia, emigrated to America in 1875, and located in New York, where he was married. The family removed to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1889. The son, Joseph, attended the public schools of Cleveland, and he graduated from Lin- coln High School in 1902. He then attended Cleveland Law School, was admitted to the Bar at Columbus, Ohio, in 1907, and at once took up the practice of his profession at Cleveland. In the year 1907, Mr. Lustig was joined in marriage with Miss Mabel Albert, of Cleveland, Ohio. They have a son, aged 9 years.
By appointment of Mayor Johnson, of Cleveland, in 1902, Mr. Lus- tig accepted the position of Registrar of Vital Statistics - a place which he filled for 6 years. In the year 1912, Mr. Lustig was chosen, as a Democrat, one of the members to represent Cuyahoga County in the 80th General Assembly, his majority being 2,000. He was re-elected in 1914, to serve in the 8Ist General Assembly and again chosen in 1916, to serve in the 82nd General Assembly.
Throughout his service as a member of the Legislature, Mr. Lustig has been active for sound and conservative legislation.
At the regular session of the 82nd General Assembly in 1917, Rep- resentative Lustig was author of H. B. No. 18, relative to carrying of concealed weapons, and H. B. No. 119, relating to probation officers, their appointment, and compensation. Both bills became laws. Mr. Lustig served as Chairman of the committee on Fees and Salaries, and as a member of the committees: Building and Loan and Other Savings Associations, Conservation of Natural Resources, Military Affairs, and Villages.
601
OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
HON. HORACE BURR MADDEN.
(Franklin County)
A blacksmith by trade, and one who has ever been a credit to his calling, and a highly respected citizen of Franklin County, is the subject of this sketch.
Hon. Horace Burr Madden was born in Tuckahoe, Cumberland County, New Jersey, Dec. 5th, 1852. His father, Martin Madden, also a native of New Jersey, was a glass- blower by occupation, and he, at one time, filled the office of sheriff of Atlantic County, N. J. The mother, nee Rebecca Powell, of Millville, N. J., died during the early boy- hood of her son, Horace. The son was edu- cated in the public schools of New Jersey, and then learned the black- smith trade, working in the shop conducted by his brother. He was later employed in various wagon manufacturing establishments in New Jersey and he was for some time engaged with the celebrated "Brewster" carriage factory in New York. Mr. Madden came to Newark, Ohio, from New Jersey and in 1892, he removed to Columbus where, for a period of II years, he conducted his own horseshoeing shop at the Driv- ing Park.
On July 24th, 1875, Mr. Madden was united in marriage with Miss Mary Jane Sudlum, of Cape May, N. J., and to this union, six chil- dren have been born, namely: Charles, who died in infancy, at Cape May, N. J., Ira P., President of the Capitol Motor Car Company, Edith, wife of J. Martin Dye, Manzanita, wife of Benjamin Coffman, James F., also connected with the Capitol Motor Car Company, and Ada R.
During his residence in Columbus, Mr. Madden has been closely associated with the Franklin County Democratic organization, and dur- ing the Harmon administration, he was nominated as a candidate for the Legislature but was not elected. In 1916, Mr. Madden was ap- pointed Foreman of the Buckeye Lake and Canal, in which position he served two years. In the year 1916, he was nominated and elected, as a Democrat, to serve in the Eighty-second General Assembly of Ohio, and at the regular session of that body in 1917 he took an active interest in all legislation which he considered advantageous to all of the people.
602
OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
Representative Madden served as Chairman of the Committee on Public Buildings and Lands, and as a member of the committees: Civil Service, Fees and Salaries, and Fish Culture and Game.
HON. JOHN ALEXANDER MANSFIELD.
(Jefferson County)
Jefferson County was established on July 29th, 1797, by proclamation of Governor St. Clair, of the Northwest Territory, before Ohio became a State, and was the fifth of the Ohio counties. It originally included all of eastern Ohio, from the Ohio River to Lake Erie; from the Pennsylvania line as far west as the line of the Tuscarawas and Cuyahoga Rivers. Many changes in its dimensions oc- curred before it was finally reduced to its present proportions. Among the distin- guished sons of Jefferson County was Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War in Lincoln's cabinet, and Judge Benjamin Tappan, United States Senator and mem- ber of the Ohio Supreme Court, lived in the county most of his life. Also Judge Wright of the Ohio Supreme Court and Judge Wilson, the grandfather of President Wilson.
The county was named for Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States when the county was projected. Steubenville, the county seat, was named in honor of Baron Von Steuben, the foreign drillmaster of the Continental Militia in the Revolutionary War.
Hon. John A. Mansfield, who represents Jefferson County in the Eighty-second General Assembly of Ohio, was born in Wayne Town- ship, Jefferson County, Ohio, Sept. 20th, 1854. His father, Jacob Y. Mansfield, was born in the same township in 1815. The son, John, re- ceived his education in the common schools, Hopedale College, and Michigan University. He graduated at Michigan University Law School in March, 1879, was admitted to the Bar of Michigan in the same month, and to the Bar of Ohio on April 16th, 1879, at Steubenville, Ohio, where he commenced the practice of his profession that year.
Mr. Mansfield was nominated by the Republican and elected Probate Judge of Jefferson County in 1887, and re-elected in 1890. He
603
OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
was elected Judge of the Common Pleas Court for the third subdivision of the 8th Judicial District of Ohio in 1891, resigning the office of Probate Judge to enter upon his duties as Common Pleas judge Feb. 9th, 1892. Judge Mansfield was re-elected to the Common Pleas bench in November, 1896. In the year 1906, he formed a partnership with Roy N. Merryman, Esq., which law firm still exists. Judge Mansfield was chosen Presidential elector for President Taft, in 1908. In the year 1914, Judge Mansfield was elected as a Republican, a member of the 8Ist General Assembly of Ohio, and he was re-elected in 1916.
At the regular session of the 82nd General Assembly in 1917, Rep- resentative Mansfield served as a member of the following committees, namely : Cities, Judiciary, and State and Economic Betterment.
Judge Mansfield is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was elected delegate from the East Ohio Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church to the general conference at Cleveland, Ohio, in 1896, and re-elected a delegate to the general conference at Chicago, in 1900.
In the year 1877, Mr. Mansfield was united in marriage with Miss Nettie Mansfield, of Hopedale, Ohio.
HON. WILLIAM ARTHUR MARKER.
(Van Wert County)
The land within the boundaries of Van Wert County, which was a portion of the old Northwestern Ohio Indian Territory, was acquired by the Treaty of St. Mary's, in 1818. The county was created by the Legislature on April Ist, 1820, and it was named in honor of Isaac Van Wert, one of the three Con- tinental Army soldiers who captured Major Andre. The county was not organized until 1835, when the first meeting of the county commissioners was held at Willshire, the temporary seat of justice, on April 24th. The first term of the Court of Common Pleas was held in Willshire, on May IIth, 1838. In the year 1840, the first frame courthouse was erected at Van Wert, which place was then made the permanent county seat.
604
OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
Hon. William Arthur Marker, who represents Van Wert County in the Ohio House of Representatives, Eighty-second General Assembly, was born in York Township, Van Wert County, Ohio, Feb. 16th, 1881. His father, Peter Marker, was born in Prussia, July 25th, 1849 and came to America at the age of seven years. The son, William, received his education in the common schools, and at Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio. He worked on the farm until the age of 20, and upon leav- ing college, took a position as reporter on the Van Wert Daily Times. Mr. Marker received rapid promotion in his newspaper work, being within a year local editor of the Times, and in 1907, he was chosen Editor and Business Manager. He sold his interest in the newspaper in 19II, and in the month of June, of the same year, he was appointed, by Governor Harmon, Statistician in the Workshop and Factories Divi- sion of the State Industrial Commission. He served in this capacity until January, 1913, when he was appointed secretary of the State de- partment of Public Works, under the administration of Governor James M. Cox. Mr. Marker held this position until June, 1914, when he was appointed Chief Clerk in the State Banking Department. He resigned this position January Ist, 1915, to accept the position of Departmental Examiner in Auditor of State A. V. Donahey's office, which place he resigned March Ist, 1915, because of ill health. On January Ist, 1916, Mr. Marker was appointed Deputy Probate Judge of Van Wert County, which position he held until he was sworn in as a member of the Legislature.
On Nov. 29th, 1905, Mr. Marker was joined in marriage with Miss Alice Mae Smith, of York Township, Van Wert County, Ohio. They have two children-Virginia Elizabeth, 8 years, and Alice Evelyn, 4 years.
In the year 1916, at the earnest solicitation of Democratic leaders in Van Wert County, Mr. Marker became a candidate, at the last moment, for nomination, as representative, and at the election in Novem- ber, he defeated a strong opponent by 45 votes, when the county went Republican for the head of the ticket, by about 500 votes.
At the regular session of the Eighty-second General Assembly in 1917, Representative Marker was author of H. B. No. 563, placing all mutual insurance companies, save life insurance companies, on a par with stock companies, and this bill became a Law; also H. B. No. 286, which passed both Houses, giving the people the opportunity of organ- izing each county into a library district. This bill was vetoed by Gov- ernor Cox on the grounds that "it coupled community desire to the state treasury".
Mr. Marker served as Chairman of the House committee on Library, and as a member of the committees: Agriculture, Dairy and Food Products, Federal Relations, and Insurance.
605
OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
HON. CHARLES McCLAVE.
(Huron County)
Huron County originally comprised all of what was known as the "fire lands", and its settlement was begun more than one hundred years ago by the pioneers from Connecticut. What is now Norwalk Township, Huron County, was the pioneer settlement in this county. The first house built by white men in the present Huron county was a log structure in Norwalk Township. Huron County was created by act of the Legislature Feb. 7th, 1809, and included at that time all of the "fire lands", but was not formally organized until Jan. 31st, 1815. A county
seat site was first selected in Avery Township, and the locality is now known as "old County Seat". In 1818, the county seat was moved to the new town of Norwalk, and on Dec. 7th, of that year, the county commissioners purchased a building for $848, to be used as a court- house, and they had a jail erected at a cost of $1275. The commission that recommended to the Legislature the change of the seat of justice from Avery, now Milan, to Norwalk, was composed of Abraham Tap- pan, of Geauga County; William Wetmore, of Portage County; and Elias L. Lee, of Cuyahoga County.
Hon. Charles McClave, representative of Huron County in the Eighty-second General Assembly of Ohio, is a Republican, and he was born at New London, Ohio, June 21st, 1859. He was educated in the public schools, and is a farmer by occupation. Mr. McClave was also a member of the House in the 8Ist General Assembly. He is married, and a member of the Masonic Order.
At the regular session of the Eighty-second General Assembly in 1917, Representative McClave served as a member of the committees on Library, Public Waterways, and Taxation and Revenues.
606
OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
HON. HARRY M. McKAY.
(Clinton County)
Clinton County was authorized by act of the Legislature on Feb. 19th, 1810, and it was given its name in honor of George Clin- ton, a distinguished Ex-Governor of New York State, then Vice-President of the United States. The territory composing the new county was taken from the adjoining counties of Warren and Highland, but later it was discovered that the county did not have the minimum 400 square miles required by the State Constitution at that time, and on Feb. 4th, 1813, the Legislature passed an Act taking more land from Highland County to make up the deficiency. The surveyor could find only three square miles and 18 acres of Highland available, so this was taken, and on Jan. 30th, 1815, the Legislature appropriated a half-mile strip contain- ing the needed eleven square miles from the eastern border of Warren County. On Feb. 10th, 1810, and after several changes of name, Wil- mington was designated the name of the county seat after places of that name in Delaware and North Carolina, from which many of the early settlers had come. The first known white settler of the county was William Smiley, who located on land now divided by the line separating Clinton and Warren. He built a cabin on this land in 1797.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.