#27 Charles Anderson

Charles Anderson

Born: June 1, 1814

Died: September 2, 1895

Political Party: Whig / Republican

Term of Office: August 29, 1865 - January 8, 1866

Buried: Kuttawa Cemetery Kuttawa, Kentucky

No. 24 of 56

    Charles Anderson was born near Louisville, Kentucky in 1814 into a prominent family. His father had served as an aide-de-camp to the Marquis de Lafayette during the American Revolution. He attended Miami University where he graduated in 1833. After graduation he moved back to Louisville to study law. Then in 1835, he moved to Dayton, Ohio and got admitted to the Ohio bar. He set up his own law practice, while also running his family farm. As he gained a name for himself in the Dayton area as a successful lawyer, he was elected to be Montgomery Counties prosecuting attorney. 

   In 1844, he was elected to a seat in the Ohio Senate. As a member of the Whig party, he strongly opposed Ohio's black laws, which limited rights to African Americans. After being involved in the construction of the new statehouse he returned to his law practice and farm in Dayton after just one term in state government. In 1848, Anderson moved to Cincinnati to start a new law practice partnership. Business was going well, but due to health problems he moved back to Dayton around 1855. In 1859, Anderson moved to a farm he bought near San Antonio, Texas, hoping that the new climate would improve his health. 

    When the Civil War broke out, Anderson's pro union position was very unpopular with his southern neighbors. Fearing for his families safety, he fled for Mexico. He was arrested en route to Mexico and thrown in a San Antonio jail for awhile. But he eventually made his escape to Mexico was then allowed to return to Dayton, Ohio.

   President Lincoln sent him on a Pro Union speaking tour of Europe. After that he served as a Colonel in the Union Army until he was badly injured. He resigned from the military and returned home to Dayton, fully expecting to die from his injuries. But after a slow recovery, he decided to enter politics again. In 1863 he ran for Lt. Governor of Ohio on a pro Union ticket with John Brough. The Union party ticket won the election.

 On August 29, 1865 he assumed the Governorship upon the death of Governor John Brough. Since the Civil War was over, Anderson's few months as a place holding Governor were uneventful. Anderson chose not to seek a term of his own. After his brief time as Governor he returned to Kentucky, where he was born, to practice law. He died in Kentucky in 1895

I visited the gravesite of Governor Anderson in March 2012. It worked out well that I was traveling through the area on my way from Nashville to St. Louis. Anderson is one of 7 Governors of Ohio that are not buried in the state. Anderson was the first of 2 out of state Governor gravesites that I got to see on this trip.

Governor Anderson's gravesite is one of the most unique that I have seen. It's shaped like a bed frame.

Governor Anderson and I



#18 Mordecai Bartley

Mordecai Bartley

Born: December 16, 1783
Died: October 10, 1870
Political Party: Whig
Term of Office: December 3, 1844 - December 12, 1846
Buried: Mansfield Cemetery Mansfield, Ohio
23 of 56


   Mordecai Bartley was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania in 1783 to a farming family. He married in 1804 and in 1809 moved his young family to Jefferson County, Ohio.

    When the War of 1812 broke out, Bartley served as a Captain on an infantry company that he, himself started. Eventually General William Henry Harrison appointed him adjutant of one of his regiments. After the war, Bartley moved his family to a new farm near Mansfield, Ohio. Due to the families involvement in merchant activities, on top of farming, the family moved into the town of Mansfield to be closer to the action in 1834.

    While Bartley was doing well with his farm and other business ventures, he got involved in politics. He served as a state senator in 1817 and 1818. Then in 1822, he was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He served 4-2 year terms in Congress and then decided to retire from politics and not seek reelection in 1830. He went home to Mansfield and tended to his business ventures.

   In 1844, Mordecai Bartley's son, Thomas, was serving as Speaker of the Ohio Senate. When Governor Wilson Shannon resigned to become President John Tyler's minister to Mexico, Thomas Bartley became the 17th Governor of Ohio, place holding the office for the rest of Shannon's term. 1844 was an election year, and the Whig party approached Mordecai Bartley to be their candidate for Governor of Ohio. He accepted, beating his Democratic challenger and future Governor David Tod. And so, on December 3, 1844, Mordecai Bartley was sworn in as Ohio's 18th Governor, succeeding his son Thomas as Governor. This is one of the very few times that a father succeeded his son to such a high political office.

    Mordecai Bartley's single 2 year term as Governor was busy. With Whig's controlling the state legislature they were able to accomplish a lot. They passed the Kelly Key Bank Bill of 1845, which stabilized the state banking system. He was also well known for his opposition to the fugitive slave laws and Ohio's laws limiting basic rights to African American's. He also opposed the Mexican War, but did his part to round up troops for the war effort. Bartley did not seek reelection and retired from politics for good, once again attending to his business ventures in Mansfield. He died in 1870.
 

    I visited the gravesite of Governor Mordecai Bartley on March 4, 2012, a Sunday afternoon. We had just done our northern KY / Cincinatti trip the Sunday before. In that week we had gotten our new camera in the mail. We had been very disappointed with the picture quality of our old camera for awhile now. And I was very disappointed with how some of the pictures turned out from the previous week. I really wanted to go somewhere to try out the new camera. Mansfield is only about an hour or so away and I knew that there was a Governor buried there. So after church we headed for Mansfield for a little site seeing. Mansfield is also the area where most of the movie 'Shawshank Redemption' was filmed. I didn't look to much into it. But I did map out the Ohio State Reformatory ( aka Shawshank prison) to see while we were in the area. As it turns out the prison was closed til May. But I found a website that gives more filming locations for the movie in the area. So sometime I will make it over there and see all that. Mordecai Bartley's grave wasn't to hard to find, since I knew from findagrave that he just across from the large John Sherman gravesite.

Mordecai Bartley gravesite Mansfield, Ohio

Governor Modecai Bartley and I. Mansfield, Ohio

The next few pictures are from my return trip in June 2017

My kids Governor Bartley and I

#51 Myers Y. Cooper

Myers Y. Cooper

Born: November 25, 1873
Died: December 5, 1958
Political Party: Republican
Term of Office: January 14, 1929 - January 12, 1931
Buried: Spring Grove Cemetery Cincinnati, Ohio
22 of 56

   Myers Y. Cooper was born in St. Louisville, Ohio in 1873. After attending 2 years of college, he left without graduating. In 1896, he moved to Cincinnati and opened up a real estate business. After a great deal of success in the real estate business, he opened up other companies in lumber and banking. Over time he would also serve as president of Ohio Fair Managers Association and president of the Ohio Council of Churches. In real estate he became known for allowing people to by houses on credit it they were unable to pay for the whole thing upfront.

   Cooper was active in Ohio Republican politics throughout the 1910's and 20's, holding mostly party positions. The first political office that he ran for was Governor of Ohio in 1926. He lost to the incumbent Governor Alvin Victor Donahey. He ran again in 1928 and was swept into office along with a Republican sweep across the country. His defeated Democratic opponent, Martin L. Davey, would go on to be Governor himself a few years down the road. Herbert Hoover was elected President that year, and the Ohio general assembly was predominantly Republican, allowing Cooper to get a lot of his plans through to law. 

    Cooper had the unfortunate luck of being Governor when the Great Depression hit. The people felt that Cooper should of done more to help their troubles. And so, he lost reelection in 1930 in George White. After loosing reelection, Cooper returned home to Cincinnati to his many business ventures. His name is still associated with real estate. When I googled his name in research, I found several links connected to a real estate company before I came to any information on the man himself. He died in 1958.

       Myers Y. Cooper was the 6th and final Governor grave that we visited in Spring Grove Cemetery in February 2012. 9 Governors total are in Spring Grove. I had gotten 3 when I stopped by in September 2011. So it took me 2 trips but I finally got all 9.
      Most of the Governor graves that I have seen make no mention of them serving as Governor. Coopers grave was different. He and/ or his family must of been very proud of the fact that he served as Governor as you will see. I liked it!

Governor Cooper gravesite. The personalized white slabs remind me of Harry Truman's gravesite

Myers Y. Coopers personal gravemarker

Governor Cooper and I

Picture taken during April 2017 revisit, during a storm

Governor Cooper and I. I'm getting very wet and this point.

#37 Joseph B. Foraker

Joseph B. Foraker

Born: July 5 1846
Died: May 10, 1917
Political Party: Republican
Term of Office: January 14, 1886 - January 12, 1890
Buried: Spring Grove Cemetery Cincinnati, Ohio
21 of 56

     Joseph Foraker was born in Highland County, Ohio in 1846 to a farming family. When Foraker was 15 he went to stay with an Uncle who worked as a County auditor. Having little previous schooling, this gave him the chance to learn more as he clerked for his Uncle.  At the age of 16 he joined the Union Army eventually earning the rank of Captain. He served under General William Tecumseh Sherman during his March to the Sea.

   After the war, Foraker attended Ohio Wesleyan University before going to study law at Cornell University. Foraker graduated from law school at Cornell in 1869, which also happened to be Cornell's first graduating class of 8 total students. He was admitted to the Ohio bar in October 1869, after moving to Cincinnati and started practicing law.

   Foraker became a successful lawyer, gaining a reputation as a well spoken Republican. In 1879, he entered politics by being elected as a judge on Cincinnati's superior court. In 1883, Foraker was chosen as the Republican candidate for Governor of Ohio. But after Republican Governor Charles Foster raised taxes on liquor, it really hurt any Republicans chance of winning the election. Foraker lost in 1883 to Democrat George Hoadly.

    Foraker was chosen as an at large delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1884 along with Congressman and future President William McKinley and Cleveland political boss Mark Hanna. Foraker was persuaded to nominate Senator John Sherman (brother of General William Tecumseh Sherman) from Ohio for President. Sherman ultimately lost the nomination to James G. Blaine. But his involvement in the Convention gave him national recognition. He was even considered as a VP Candidate for Blaine, receiving one delegates vote. Having become a more familiar face and name, he ran again in 1885, beating Hoadly this time.

   As Governor, Foraker worked to end voter fraud, worked to end corruption at the city level of government, created a state board of health, and pushed for greater oversite on the management of the state prisons, among many other things. He won reelection in 1887.

   In 1887, President Cleveland asked that all southern battle flags captured by the north during the Civil War be returned to the south. Foraker refused, saying that it wasn't going to happen while he was Governor. Foraker was hailed a hero by many for his refusing the President's request, receiving thousands of congratulatory messages. Not long after, Foraker visited Philadelphia to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Constitution. In one of the parades, Foraker rode past President Cleveland as he and other Civil War Veterans waved some of the south's captured battle flags that Cleveland asked be returned.

    A split occurred in the Ohio Republican party during Foraker's 2nd term when he refused Mark Hanna's recommendation for who should serve as Ohio's state oil inspector. By splitting with the Hanna, McKinley, Sherman wing of the party, Foraker lost reelection to a 3rd term in 1889. Mark Hanna played a big part in James A. Garfield's successful 1880 Presidential Campaign, and it seemed that Foraker was being groomed for a future Presidential run. But after the split with Hanna, Hanna seemed to focus his attention on making William McKinley President some day. Which he did.

    Foraker returned to practice law in Cincinnati. He began to heal the wounds of the split when in 1891, he agreed to William McKinley's request to put forward his name at the state Republican convention for Governor of Ohio. But things heated up again when Foraker unsuccessfully tried to take the Republican nomination for Senator away from John Sherman in the election of 1892. But later that year, Hanna and Foraker made peace when Foraker agreed to Hanna's request to put William McKinley's name in nomination for President at the 1892 Republican National Convention. McKinley lost the nomination to President Benjamin Harrison and James G. Blaine. But 4 years later, McKinley won the nomination and the White House.

    Foraker's influence in Ohio Republican politics reached a peak in the Republican state convention in 1895. Foraker chose an ally, Asa Bushnell to be candidate for Governor, and positioned himself as candidate for the U.S. Senate. Both Bushnell and Foraker won the offices that they were seeking. Foraker once again put McKinley's name up for nomination at the Republican National Convention in 1896. He also gave the nominating speech for McKinley. On March 4, 1897, Joseph Foraker took his seat as a US Senator. It was also the same day that McKinley became President. 

    Joseph Foraker served 2- 6 year terms in the Senate. In that time, he was a useful ally to his once rival President McKinley. But when Theodore Roosevelt became President he would often find himself at odds with some of his policies. Foraker would try for the Republican nomination for President in 1908, but was soundly defeated by Theodore Roosevelt's heir apparent William Howard Taft.

      In his first term as Senator, Foraker was given money in exchange for offering legal advice to Standard Oil. This sort of thing was fairly common back then. But the "conflict of interest" factor was just starting to become an issue. This became public knowledge around the time that he was running for a 3rd term in the Senate. He lost the election and returned to practicing law in Cincinnati. He took another shot at the Senate in 1914, but lost to future President Warren G. Harding. Foraker died  in Cincinnati in 1917.

  

Joseph Foraker was the 5th Governor grave we found in Spring Grove Cemetery in February 2012.  

Captain Joseph Foraker during the Civil War

Foraker gravesite

Governor Forakers personal gravemarker

Governor Foraker and I

Picture taken during April 2017 revisit during a storm

Governor Foraker and I. I'm getting very wet at this point.

#45 Judson Harmon

Judson Harmon

Born: February 3, 1846
Died: February 22, 1927
Political Party: Democrat
Term of Office: January 11, 1909 - January 13, 1913
Buried: Spring Grove Cemetery Cincinnati, Ohio
20 of 56

    
   Judson Harmon was born in Newton, Ohio in 1846 to a minister father. He graduated from Dennison College in 1866. He then attended Cincinnati Law School, after which he was admitted to the Ohio bar and set up his own law practice in 1869. He gained a very positive reputation as a lawyer and was chosen to be a Judge on the common please and superior courts in Cincinnati.

      Formerly a Republican, mismanaging of the reconstruction of the south after the Civil War pushed Harmon to become a Democrat.  In 1895, President Grover Cleveland picked Harmon to be his Attorney General. He served in that position until the end of Cleveland's term. As U.S. Attorney General he pursued anti trust suits against railroad companies.

    After a limited retirement from politics, Judson Harmon ran for Governor of Ohio in 1908 and won. He won reelection in 1910, beating Republican challenger, former Lt. Governor and future President Warren G. Harding. As Governor, Harmon worked hard to do away with corruption and help state government run more efficiently. While Harmon was Governor, Ohio ratified the 16th and 17th Amendments to the Constitution. The 16th Amendment founded a federal income tax, and the 17 the Amendment stated that U.S. Senators would now be directly elected by the people.

    At the 1912 Democratic Convention in Baltimore, Harmon's name was put forward as a candidate for President. He started out as Ohio's favorite son candidate, but he started to gain support from other states as well. At the end of the first ballot Harmon had 148 delegate votes. But by the time the 26th ballot came out he only had 29. Voting ended on the 39th ballot when William Jennings Bryan shifted his support to New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson. Harmon was not on board for a lot of the Progressive policies sweeping the nation. And so he was probably the right guy at the wrong time.

     When Harmon left the Governorship he returned home to Cincinnati and attended to his law practice. He also taught law at Cincinnati Law School during this time. He died in 1927.

   Judson Harmon was the 4th of 6 Governor graves that we saw in Spring Grove Cemetery when we stopped in February 2012. He was just up the hill a little from Governor George Hoadly's gravesite.

Harmon family gravestone

Harmon individual marker

The kids, Governor Harmon and I

Picture taken on April 2017 revisit

More Harmon family members on the other side, farther down the hill

Governor Harmon and I

#36 George Hoadly

George Hoadly

Born: July 31, 1826
Died: August 26, 1902
Political Party: Democrat
Term of Office: January 14, 1884 - January 11, 1886
Buried: Spring Grove Cemetery Cincinnati, Ohio
19 of 56

George Hoadly was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1826. His father was at one time Mayor of New Haven. When he was still very young, Hoadly moved with his family Cleveland. He started studying at Western Reserve College when he was only 14. After graduation he went to study law at Harvard, where one of his fellow students was future Governor and President Rutherford B. Hayes. In 1846, Hoadly started working in the law office of Salmon P. Chase (future Governor, Secretary of the Treasury and Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court). In 1847 he was admitted to the bar in Ohio and mad partner at Chase's law firm, making the law firm Chase, Ball and Hoadly.

    Hoadly gained recognition for himself as a lawyer and was appointed by the state legislature to a judge on the Superior Court of Cincinnati in 1851. Then in 1855 he became Cincinnati city solicitor. He was twice offered a seat on the Ohio State Supreme Court. The 1st by his law partner Salmon P. Chase when he became Governor. Then again by Governor David Tod. He turned down both offers. Instead he served on the superior court in Cincinnati and taught law at Cincinnati law school. He also served as trustee at the University of Cincinnati. In 1866, he began his own law practice Hoadly, Jackson and Johnson.

    Hoadly was a Democrat in the years leading up to the Civil War. Because of the influences of Chase and his opposition to slavery he switched to the Republican party. But by the 1870's he switched back to the Democratic party for good. And so it was as a Democrat that he ran for Governor of Ohio in 1883. He ran against Republican Joseph Foraker, who was also from Cincinnati and oddly enough is now buried in the same section of Spring Grove Cemetery. The fact that Republicans supported a tax on liquor during the Charles Foster administration really hurt them and helped George Hoadly win the election.

   As Governor, 2 big conflicts hurt his once great reputation. The Great Hocking Valley coal strike of 1884-1885 and the Cincinnati court house riots of 1884. The way that he handled using the state militia in these cases caused him to loose reelection in 1885 to his previous Republican challenger Joseph Foraker. In 1884, Hoadly sought out the Democratic parties nomination for President of the United States, but he lost the nomination to Grover Cleveland.

   Hoadly retired from politics after left the Governorship. In 1887, he moved to New York City and opened up a new law firm Hoadly, Lauterbach and Johnson. He became a very successful lawyer in New York City, where he lived the rest of his life. He died in 1902.

     George Hoadly was the 3rd of 6 Governors that we visited in Spring Grove Cemetery on February 26, 2012. He was the 1st of 3 that we found in section 86 of the cemetery. Hoadly was a little difficult to find in that there was no large stone marking his grave like most of the others I have found. Usually there is a large family marker, then smaller individual markers on the ground. Governor Hoadly only had a small individual marker on the ground.

George Hoadly gravesite. Spring Grove cemetery Cincinatti, Ohio

  

2 Governors  in one picture. Front and to the left is the gravestone for Governor George Hoadly. Up and to the right is the gravestone for our next Governor- Judson Harmon.

My son Nicky and I at the grave of Governor Hoadly

Picture taken during April 2017 revisit

Governor Hoadly and I

#33 Thomas L. Young

Thomas L. Young

Born: December 14, 1832
Died: July 20, 1888
Political Party: Republican
Term of Office: March 2, 1877 - January 14, 1878
Buried: Spring Grove Cemetery Cincinnati, Ohio
18 of 56


   Thomas L. Young was born in Ireland in 1832. At the age of 12, he immigrated with his family to the United States threw New York City. He joined the Army in 1848, where he served as a musician for 10 years and earned the rank of first Sergeant. After he left the Army, he moved to Cincinnati where he became a school superintendent and teacher.

   At the onset of the Civil War, young volunteered and served for 3 months as a Captain in General John C. Fremont's bodyguard. After this he went to work as an editor for a Democratic newspaper in Sydney. In August 1862, Young was commissioned as a Major in the 118th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. As a field officer, Young would earn the rank of Colonel. At the Battle of Resaca in Georgia in May 1864, Young led a charge that killed 106 of his 270 men in just a matter of minutes. Due to health reasons during the Atlanta campaign, Young resigned his commission in September 1864. On March 13, 1865, President Lincoln honored him for his service by giving him the rank of Brigadier General.

   When Young left the military, he moved back home to Cincinnati  and started to practice law. He was admitted to the Ohio bar in April 1865. That same month, he entered politics by becoming Cincinnati's assistant city auditor.  Later in the year, Young was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives. He served a single 2 year term in the state legislature. He them became recorder of Hamilton County in 1867. In 1868, President Andrew Johnson named him solicitor of internal revenue for Ohio's southern district.

   In 1871, having switched to the Republican Party, Young was elected to the Ohio State Senate. Young grew in popularity within the state's Republican party and was chosen as candidate for Lt. Governor of Ohio in the election of 1875. He won the election, as did the Republican's candidate for Governor Rutherford B. Hayes. In 1876, Hayes won the Presidential election. Upon Hayes ascension to the highest office in the land, Young became Ohio's 33rd Governor.

   The biggest thing to happen during Young's less then one year in office was when he had to restore the peace from a railroad strike by using the Ohio state militia.

   In 1878, Young reentered politics by being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. After 2 - 2 years terms in Congress, Young lost reelection to a 3rd term. He then carried on with his law practice in Cincinnati until Governor Joseph Foraker appointed him to Cincinnati Board of Public Affairs in 1886. Young held that position until his death in 1888.


Thomas L. Young was the 2nd of 6 Governors we saw in Spring Grove Cemetery on February 26, 2012. We had just seen the grave of Youngs successor Richard M. Bishop. After Young we would see the graves of Governors George Hoadly, Judson Harmon, Joseph Foraker, and Myers Y. Cooper.

Thomas L. Young gravesite. Spring Grove Cemetery Cincinatti, Ohio

Governor Thomas L. Young and I

Picture taken during my April 2017 revisit

Governor Young and I