Ohio Governor Gravesites: #28 Jacob D. Cox

Jacob D. Cox

Born: October 27, 1828
Died: August 4, 1900
Political Party: Republican
Term of Office: January 8, 1866 - January 13, 1868
Buried: Spring Grove Cemetery Cincinnati, Ohio
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   Jacob D. Cox was born in Montreal, Canada in 1828. His father was a construction contractor from New York and was working on the Church of Notre Dame in Montreal at the time of Jacob's birth. After the church was build, the Cox family moved back to New York. Cox was a descendant of Mayflower Pilgrim leader William Brewster.

Cox graduated from Oberlein College in 1851 with a degree in theology. At Oberlein he married the daughter of the College President. After a falling out with his in laws he moved to Warren, Ohio and became the superintendent of the local school there. He also studied law, and was admitted into the Ohio bar in 1853.

   In the 1850's the Whig party died out as the Republican party was on the rise. Cox helped organize the Republican Party around Warren and was elected to the Ohio State Senate in 1859. In the Senate he met future President James A. Garfield and formed an alliance with him and another Oberlein graduate James Monroe (not the President). Cox, Garfield and Monroe became know as the "Radical Triumvirate" as they helped Governor William Dennison pass legislation leading up to the Civil War. In 1860, Cox became Brigadier General of the State Militia.

   As the war began, Cox left the State Senate and was appointed commander of Camp Jackson - a staging area that soldiers met before being deployed to field duty. Cox served in the Army throughout the war, raising to the rank of Major General. He would eventually lead troops in many battles, most notably Antietam and Atlanta. Later in life, Cox reflected on his time in the war and wrote several military history books.

   In 1865, Cox became Ohio's Union Parties Candidate for Governor. He won the election and resigned his service in the military upon taking office. In spite of his prewar abolitionist leanings, Cox did not support former slaves being given the right to vote. He also supported President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction policies, which ultimately left him unpopular with fellow Republicans. He chose not to run for reelection in 1867 and opened up a law practice in Cincinnati.

   In 1869, President Grant chose Cox to be his Secretary of the Interior. Cox resigned as Secretary of the Interior after a year and a half due to his opposition to President Grant's compliance with the spoils system.

    From 1873 - 1878, Cox moved to Toledo and served as President of the Toledo and Wabash Railroad. While in Toledo, he was elected to a single term in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1877-1879. He then moved back to Cincinnati, where he served time as both Dean of Cincinnati Law School and President of the University of Cincinnati. Cox later declined President McKinley's offer as Minister to Spain. He died in Massachusetts in 1900.