Representative Charles Cyrus Kearns

Charles Cyrus Kearns (February 11, 1869 – December 17, 1931) was an American lawyer, newspaper editor, and Republican politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio from 1915 to 1931. Over the course of eight consecutive terms in Congress, he contributed to the legislative process during a significant period in American history and represented the interests of his Ohio constituents in the House of Representatives.

Kearns was born on February 11, 1869, in Tonica, LaSalle County, Illinois. In 1874 he moved with his parents to Georgetown, Brown County, Ohio, where he was raised. He attended the public schools in Georgetown and pursued further education at Ohio Northern University in Ada and at National Normal University in Lebanon, Ohio. Before entering the legal profession, he taught school in Brown County, Ohio, reflecting an early engagement with public service and education in his adopted state.

After his initial work as a teacher, Kearns turned to the study of law. He enrolled in the Cincinnati Law School, from which he graduated in 1894. That same year he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Batavia, Clermont County, Ohio. His early legal career in Batavia established him as a practicing attorney in southwestern Ohio and provided the professional foundation for his later public offices.

In addition to his legal work, Kearns gained experience in journalism and newspaper management. Around the turn of the century he moved west and served as managing editor of the Las Vegas Daily Record in Las Vegas, New Mexico, in 1900 and 1901. He then became managing editor of the Daily Record in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1901 and 1902. These editorial positions broadened his exposure to public affairs and political issues beyond Ohio. In 1903 he returned to Ohio and resumed the practice of law in Batavia. His growing prominence in local legal circles led to his election as prosecuting attorney of Clermont County, a post he held from 1906 to 1909.

Kearns’s experience as a lawyer, educator, and editor helped propel him into national politics. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican to the Sixty-fourth Congress and was subsequently reelected to the seven succeeding Congresses, serving continuously from 1915 to 1931. His eight terms in office coincided with major national developments, including World War I, the postwar period, and the onset of the Great Depression. During these years he participated in the democratic process in the House of Representatives, contributing to federal legislation and representing the concerns of his Ohio district in Washington, D.C.

After more than a decade and a half in Congress, Kearns sought another term in 1930 but was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Seventy-second Congress. Following his defeat, he returned to private life and resumed the practice of law, this time in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1930. He continued his legal work there until his death.

Charles Cyrus Kearns died in Amelia, Clermont County, Ohio, on December 17, 1931. He was interred in Mount Moriah Cemetery in Tobasco, Ohio. His career spanned education, journalism, law, and public office, and his long tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives marked him as a significant Republican figure in Ohio’s early twentieth-century political history.